Food security: LASG tasks town planners, others on safeguarding agric lands

Says it paid N6.6b WAEC fees of 313,034 students in six years

Lagos State Government, yesterday, urged professional town planners to pay special attention to food security by safeguarding agricultural lands. Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on E-GIS and Planning Matters, Dr Olajide Babatunde, appealed during the 2024 yearly general meeting of the Association of Town Planning Consultants of Nigeria (ATOPCON) in Lagos.

Babatunde, who described the profession as the most important in the world, noted that planning is critical to all human affairs. He said planners must discourage taking up agricultural land in planning design as food security is becoming a challenge with the absence of agricultural land in most cities.

He, therefore, challenged planners to come together to form a consortium to be able to bid and execute big town planning jobs as well as participate in planning-related activities being implemented by the state government.

Babatunde also encouraged the professionals to guide Nigerians on the need to have their property registered with the government and sanction erring members within their fold.

Chairman of the Lagos chapter of ATOPCON, David Olawale, said with a challenging economy, there is a need for serious considerations by all professionals on how to sustain their practice and provide a lasting solution to the challenging phase of means of livelihood.

Also, the immediate past President of the Nigerian lnstitute of Town Planners (NITP), Olutoyin Ayinde, who spoke on the theme of the AGM, “The Prospects of Professional Town Planning Practices in a Challenging Economy,” charged town planners to always develop a robust plan for clients to cater for all critical components in the planning designs.

IN another development, Lagos State Government, yesterday, said it had spent about N6.6 billion to pay for the West African School Certificate (WASC) examination of 313,034 students in six years.

The state’s Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, who disclosed this during the ongoing yearly ministerial media briefing to mark the first year of the second term of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said that the government paid N5.04 billion for West African Examinations Council (WAEC) candidates in the five academic years of 2019 to 2023, while about N1.5 billion has been approved for 2024 WAEC.

He said that the education transformation plan of Sanwo-Olu’s administration would focus on policy shift, addressing short, medium and long-term challenges, as well as the provision of qualitative education in the state.

Ali-Balogun said the ministry would continue to reform education policy in line with global best practices and conformity with the state’s education laws for efficiency.