Ambode puts Lagos infrastructure deficit at over $50b

Judicial officers to take oath of allegiance, secrecy, says Acting CJ

Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, yesterday said Lagos has an infrastructure deficit of $50 billion. The figure, he clarified, excluded the Housing and Education sectors infrastructure deficit.

He made the disclosure at the Lagos Infrastructure Roundtable, pointing out that the present infrastructure deficit of the state could only be imagined.

He added that the situation was worsened by the increasing population of Lagos State, estimated at 24 million people and still counting, he said, was equal to the population of some 30 African countries put together.

“By 2050, Lagos is on track to be a city of 36 million people or the sixth largest city in the world after Mumbai, Delhi, Dhaka, Kinshasa and Kolkata and ahead of Tokyo, Karachi, New York and Mexico City.

“We have a migration rate of 86 people moving into Lagos every hour, higher than New York, London or Mumbai. We have a population density of 6,939 persons per Kilometre and an average of five persons per household,” he explained.

Ambode said these come with challenges and pressures on the physical and social infrastructure of the city, adding, “Lagos requires one million housing units every year for the next five-10 years to fix the housing deficit

“As at 2015, the state had 16,000km network of roads but with a daily human traffic of over 7.5 million people and 2.8 million cars. Its power needs is over 10,000 MW but we receive less than 2,000MW.

Meanwhile, the Acting Chief Judge of the state, Justice Opeyemi Oke, has said that judicial officers would soon be mandated to take oaths of office, allegiance and secrecy.

She disclosed this yesterday at the new legal year service held at the Anglican Church of Nigeria in Lagos, and cautioned that it would no longer be business as usual.

“We presently supply 210.5 million gallons of water per day (mgpd) as against a demand of 750 mgpd. Our State generates 13,000 tons of solid waste per day.”

Ambode noted that the state was at a point in its history where it must carefully assess the situation and take careful and deliberate actions to handle the challenges facing the state.

He further said that to tackle the challenges would require private sector collaboration, especially because revenue is dropping and the state government does not want to increase tax to burden the citizens.

She charged members of the bar to stop requesting for unnecessary adjournments, noting that any lawyer caught in such practice would risk losing their license.

Oke also said that all supporting staff of judges would henceforth swear the oath of allegiance and secrecy. “It would no longer be business as usual because it is a new dawn for the judiciary. All members of the judiciary would, henceforth, be accountable for their actions and attitude.

“We at the Lagos State Judiciary are ready to work and we appeal to members of the bar to help us. We say no to unnecessary adjournments. This practice is not accepted in Europe. We need to build the judiciary of our dreams,” he said.