Press Releases

LASG Plans Rehabilitation Of Murtala Mohammed Airport Road

Jun 2, 2010 - The Lagos State Government plans to rehabilitate the Murtala Mohammed Airport Road in Ikeja in conjunction with the Federal Government, the State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, (SAN) has disclosed.

Governor Fashola, who made the disclosure at the City Hall venue of his 1, 100 Days anniversaries in Central Lagos, said the Government has already completed the design of the road and is currently liaising with the Federal Ministry of Works and other relevant agencies of the Federal Government to begin work on the road.

The Governor, who was responding to questions from foreign diplomats, media executives and civil society organizations, lamented that the state of the road was not only an embarrassment to the State but also to the country.

"As far as the road is concerned, our Government has completed the design and we are liaising with the Federal Ministry of Works to see how we can expeditiously deal with the issue", Governor Fashola said adding, "The image that it gives, not only our State but our country is unacceptable".

Assuring that something tangible would be done concerning the road in no distant future, Governor Fashola said it was with the vision of what is to come that the Government undertook to clean up Oshodi, adding that although it is not directly the responsibility of the State Government, the road is also vital in the overall development of the State.

Responding to a comment on the State's Maternal and Childcare Centres (MCC), Governor Fashola his administration embarked on the construction of the centres in different locations across the State in order to bring healthcare services nearer to the people and stem the tide of Maternal and Child mortality in the State.

"We see the issue of Maternal and Child mortality as a serious part of our health care service delivery system. Women get all sorts of complications during pregnancy. Some conceive at an age when they should not; some conceive without even knowing what health risks they face; some are hypertensive before they conceive", the Governor said.

According to him, "The Ministry of Health is dealing with this through its Diabetes and High Blood Pressure Awareness and Advocacy Programme to inform women of the choices they have to make when they decide to bring on life".

On the need to decentralize the MCCs, Governor Fashola declared, "Beyond this, we also noticed that complications arise during the process of going from home to clinics and specialist hospitals. We have, therefore, decided to decentralize MCCs to bring the services close to the women so that they do not have to go very far from home to get healthcare".

The Governor said his administration has also gone beyond this to commence training of nurses at the primary healthcare level in order to empower the medical personnel at that level to be able to deal with some of the less serious complications at that level while the more serious ones could be attended to at the secondary and tertiary levels.

"If there is one area where the Lagos State Government thinks it has met the Millennium Development Goals, it is in the Healthcare delivery, particularly in the area of Maternal and Child Mortality eradication", the Governor said adding the Government has given serious attention to this area.

Governor Fashola said the vision of his administration for emergency training and emergency response, "flows from our understanding and deep appreciation of our primary responsibility to protect life and property. Therefore, we want to be able to respond whenever accidents happen, whenever emergencies happen", adding that no matter the nature of the accident or natural disaster, government has the responsibility to install emergency life-saving facilities such as the Accident and Emergency Centre at the Old Toll Gate.

The Governor disclosed that the Government has commenced training of emergency response volunteers at the State's University in Ojo where students are signing on voluntary basis, adding that the training also involves such first responders like LASTMA, RRS, Fire Services, the Red Cross, the Saint John's Ambulance who, according to him, "are the first to arrive at the scene of accidents".

He explained that the decision to dedicate the 1, 100 Days Anniversary to foreign diplomats is because they are part of the Lagos Community and whatever action taken by the Government of Lagos State affects them in terms of how easy or how difficult their assignments in the State will be.

"They are part of the people for whom I take responsibility as head of government. What we do, what we say affects how successful their tenure can be and I feel this small community also deserves to benefit from what we can give", the Governor said.

According to the Governor, "Our world has become such a small place. The impact of globalization is right here with us today and if we are talking about GDPs, we are talking about economic growth, we cannot grow in isolation'.

The Governor said although there are appropriate laws to deal with persons who indulge in damaging public properties, the same laws make provision for individuals to arrest such people and bring them to justice where appropriate sanctions would be imposed.