Press Releases

LASG to Partner With Clinton Foundation on Environment

Feb 7, 2008 - The Lagos State government is to partner with the Clinton Foundation of the United States of America in its programmes aimed at creating a healthy environment in the state.

The Clinton Foundation is an initiative of the former President of the United States of America, Mr. Bill Clinton, with the objective to assist developing nations in their programmes aimed at tackling the problems posed by Climatic change and HIV.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), who gave the indication on Thursday, listed such areas of partnership to include Transportation, Solid waste management and Beautification programme.

Speaking when he received the Foundation led by its chairman, Mr. Ira Magaziner, in his office, Fashola said the time has come for global identification of such critical area as the transportation system especially in terms of the emission of gas.
He said the state government would like to partner with the foundation on its transportation programme, especially the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), which is aimed at providing more efficient transportation with more efficient utilization of gas in the combustion chambers and reduction in the emission of poisonous gas.

According to the governor, the government is already engaged in trans-fitting the street lights across the state with more energy-efficient and power saving bulbs, adding that the aim was to use the traffic light system to manage transportation in the state.

On waste management, the governor said the government’s objective was to clean up the landfill sites and control the poisonous gases emitting from there adding the government was also going to make use of transfer loading stations to manage solid waste.

He said the use of the loading stations would also reduce the present dependence on large number of trucks to move waste across the state to the various landfill sites.

Fashola, who said 15 transfer loading stations would be built around the state added, “This is one of the areas we would like to partner with you.”

He said, in its little way, the government has started the Beautification of the city aimed at contributing to the fight against environmental pollution and the control of carbon emission.

The governor also identified Housing as another area for partnership with the Foundation saying the government was already in partnership with the private sector in its massive housing programme.

According to him, the partnership with the Foundation is most timely now that the programme is starting so that the fitting in the houses would be made environmentally safe.

He particularly made reference to the Coastal City Project which was started by the immediate past administration saying the present government would build on the foundation to develop the city which, according to him, will cost $3.5 billion

Also Speaking at the occasion, former state governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who is the local consultant of the Foundation said he had taken up the assignment for the sake of the government in place in the state and for the respect he has of the views of the initiator of the Foundation.

Tinubu, who said he shared the views of the governor on Waste management, said there was need to put progamme in place to control the emission of poisonous gases especially considering the large population of Lagos .

Earlier in his remarks, Mr. Ira Magaziner had said the Foundation would work with the state government’s agenda in the area of mobilization of funds for the projects.