Fashola Hands Over New Classrooms ‘800 Schools To Be Connected To Lagos State Public Water Supply System’

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola  has recorded another landmark, as he recently handed over three new blocks of 42 ultra-modern classrooms to Iba Housing Estate Senior Secondary School, Ojo and Alice Ogbara Memorial Junior Secondary School, Sabo Oniba, pledging his administration's commitment to the development of education.

The first two blocks of 24 classrooms handed over at Iba Housing Estate Senior Secondary
School, Ojo, were constructed by the state government, while the other block of 18 classrooms was donated to the school by Mr. and Mrs. Modupe Folorunsho Alakija.

Speaking at a ceremony to hand over the classrooms, Governor Fashola urged stakeholders including teachers, parents, traditional rulers and the civil society to perform their responsibilities so that public schools would turn out students, who would be an asset to the state and the nation.

He said, "As a government, we will not give up. We have signed that we will not give up and as the children become ready for school, new classrooms like the two blocks we have here will continue to spring up across Lagos. We are building new schools, we are repairing the old ones and we are maintaining schools", he said.

The governor disclosed that his administration had developed a maintenance programme for public schools, which, according to him, started late last year when it awarded contracts to fix broken desks and windows and repair leaking roofs in schools, adding that the budget for increasing areas of attention had been provided for in the 2014 budget.

On the modality of the maintenance programme, Fashola said a form had been designed by the government to be filled by teachers on a monthly basis to inform government of broken down facilities that need repairs, adding that the form should be passed to the Tutors-General, who would pass them to the Ministry of Education for action.

Noting that government could not be everywhere with the best of its efforts, the governor said while data from the form was being awaited, his team had gone out and found out that most schools in the state relied on boreholes for the supply of water, adding: "We have approved 800 schools as a pilot phase, to be connected to the Lagos State public water supply system".

Speaking at Alice Ogbara Memorial Junior Secondary School, Sabo Oniba, Governor Fashola said the only way to rescue the nation's educational sector from its present low standard was to involve the private sector as a major stakeholder.

Giving reasons for his administration's Adopt-A-School Programme, which gave rise to the donation of the 18 classrooms by the Alakijas, Fashola said: "Unfortunately, government has become involved in the area where the private sector has led successfully". He added, "This is the reason for the policy of Adopt-A-School.

"It is to open the door for the missions, for institutions and for individuals other than Christian and Muslim missions to participate in the management and development of education".

He said his administration had also returned schools to the Christian and Muslim missions, who owned them.

The governor thanked the Alakija family for the donation of the classrooms, urging other public- spirited individuals and organisations to join hands with the government to promote educational development in the state and the country.

Mrs. Alakija hailed the governor for his efforts to improve the standard of education, noting that that the Adopt-A-School initiative of the government was a well-intentioned programme capable of achieving success.

Mrs. Alakija, who was accompanied to the ceremony by  her husband and siblings, said the classrooms represented the first phase of the facilities they planned for the school, adding that they planned to build a modern laboratory and a school hall.

Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, enjoined the beneficiary schools and communities to take ownership of the facilities. She thanked the Alakija for their contributions to educational development in the state.

Governor Fashola has inaugurated the Ebute -Ojo Ferry Terminal and Ijegun- Egba Floating Jetty, as well as armoured patrol boats.

At Ebute- Ojo and Ijegun- Egba, he said the development of the tank farms in the area was not part of the state's master plan, as its master plan for the location of tank farms was at the Lekki Free Trade Zone where it was designed with the safety of life and property in mind.

Fashola reiterated the unshaken and unflagging commitment of his administration to urban and rural development and recalled that he made a promise during the last electioneering campaign when he could not berth on the jetty that it would be rebuilt and replaced with a floating jetty so that vessels could berth in all types of tides, whether high, medium or low. "That for me is fulfilled today", he added.

The governor said opportunities also exist for those who want to commute by ferries at Ebute -Ojo to come in their cars and taxies and park, as the road has been repaired. He appealed to the people to take ownership of the jetty, as a fuelling service had been provided to supply fuel to boats and crafts.

"Our journey to developing water transportation is increasing day by day. Today, the ridership on the Lagos waterways by ferries and water taxies has increased from about a few hundred two to three years ago to about 1.7million passengers monthly on Lagos waterways. This number will increase as we hand over this jetty.

"The Ebute- Ojo terminal is being handed over today and we are moving to the next one to hand over the Ijegun- Egba floating terminal. The Mile two terminal is completed, except for a few finishing touches. Ibeshe terminal in Ikorodu is completed, except for minor touches. We are finalising concession with the managers and operators of the terminals. The Badore terminal is also completed and very soon it will come into full stream and full service", he said.

Fashola said the state has provided armoured patrol boats for the people who make use of the waterways, to make it safer. He explained that security is not the job of security men alone, but that of everybody. 

The Managing Director of the Lagos State Waterways Authority, Mr Yinka Marinho, said the Ebute- Ojo Ferry Terminal and the Ijegun- Egba Floating Jetty are the first commercial jetties in any part of Nigeria.

He added that the infrastructure would also bring about an improvement of socio-economic activities, such as employment opportunities, easier trade exchange and higher commercial activities in Ojo Local Government and Ori-Ade Local Council Development Area, which are along the latitude of the Badagry Expressroad axis.

Marinho thanked the governor for his vision, dedication and commitment to the development of water transportation as an integral part of implementing a multimodal public transport system befitting the megacity status of Lagos in the 21st Century.