Press Releases

Greening, Beautification Programme Boosts Investment In Lagos

Apr 11, 2008 - The Greening and Beautification Programme embarked upon by the present administration in Lagos State has boosted investment in the State by over 200 per cent, the State Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire, has said.

Banire, who spoke Friday at a Ministerial Press Briefing to mark the one year anniversary of the administration, said the investments included bids received so far from corporate organisations for branding and maintenance of the beautified open spaces across the state.

Addressing Government House Correspondents at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Dr. Banire said, “The further implication of the greening programme is that because of the beautiful environment we are now having, investment is now flowing in with the multiplier effect of, not only creating jobs, but wealth for the State”.

He disclosed that his Ministry has since taken the programme to schools under the State’s School Beautification Advocacy Project in a bid to inculcate good sanitary and greening habits into the up-coming generation, adding that so far 12 secondary schools have benefited from the programme.

The Commissioner said in a bid to conserve and preserve the biodiversity and ecosystem of the State’s Environment, his Ministry has, within the period under consideration, embarked on direct sponsorship, landscaping and beautification of open spaces, roundabouts, recreation parks, road medians and verges, adding that so far, his Ministry has completed landscaping and beautification of 22 open spaces, roundabouts, recreation parks, road medians and verges across the state while efforts were on to beautify other selected spots.

Other programmes embarked upon by the Ministry for the same purpose, Banire said; include tree tagging, enumeration and identification aimed at protecting the existing trees from indiscriminate felling.

According to him, the exercise was embarked upon to assess the level of environmental degradation suffered by the Ikeja GRA, Apapa and Ikoyi from colonial era till date through the enumeration of extant flora in those areas, identification of trees, naming and tagging them with their economic importance and replacement of vacant or fallow areas with useful ornamental trees with the view to beautifying the Lagos Metropolis.

On sanitation of the city, the Commissioner said for the purpose of upholding the administration’s agenda of Zero Tolerance to all forms of environmental nuisance, his Ministry identified ten local government areas for the implementation of the programme over the next four years. The Local Governments, according to him, include, Amuwo-Odofin, Apapa, Ikeja, Kosofe, Eti-Osa, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, Oshodi-Isolo, Shomolu and Surulere, adding that of the number, Eti-Osa and Ikeja were selected for the pilot scheme which has since kicked-off.

The Commissioner said Environmental Health Officers have also been employed to inspect premises, both individual and public, to detect nuisances and abate same, adding that out of a total of 1684 abatement notices issued within the period under review, 993 were complied with while 125 notices which were not complied with led to 556 prosecutions. Also N4,537,500 was realized as fines, he said.

Banire said the state government has awarded the contract for the construction of six Transfer Loading Stations (TLS) around the State, while the World Bank has shown interest in developing four other TLS in Oba Ogunji, Marina, Abule-Egba and Owutu.

Expressing government’s commitment to transform the Environment of the State to an enviable one, Banire appealed to Lagosians to complement the efforts of Government by proper disposal of their wastes through accredited PSP operators.