The Executive Chairman, Apapa Local Government, Idowu Adejumoke Senbanjo, has disclosed that in the last two years, the administration has been working round the clock to ensure the area is habitable by tackling gridlock challenges and cleaning the environment.

Speaking during mid-year budget review held in Lagos recently, she disclosed that due to the gridlock, sanitation in Apapa was very poor, but added the environment is getting cleaner and things are presently getting better.

Senbanjo said: “We also did a lot on cleaning the drainages. We are working with Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).We have reached out to the state government to come and assist. We are also clearing the streets of hawkers and shanties.”

She said the gridlock has compelled many business owners to leave Apapa. “Many of them have left and many of the warehouses are empty. It has also affected revenue.”

She, however, expressed happiness with what the government is doing on the bridges. Unlike what it used to be, she said challenges of traffic have now improved.

In the area of education, she disclosed, “we have supported parents by providing school uniforms for their wards. We have also provided furniture and books. We have constructed borehole in schools because of sanitation. We have the skill acquisition centre. We are partnering with The British Council to design the curiculum.

“We have done robotics and STEM programmmes for the children. We are also looking at school feeding, at least feeding the children once a day.”

Concerning security, she said, “we are working with police and neighbourhood watch to bridge security gaps. We are trying to fix the pipe-borne water.

Specifically, she revealed, “we are working on how to assist in reducing cost of transportation. We are working with local buses around us so that they can go back to the old prices.”

In the area of empowerment, she assured, “we are looking at giving five hundred to a one thousand poor families N20,000 each, at least for the next six months.”