13th September, 2023
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday swore in 37 commissioners and special advisers to help him drive his agenda in the next four years.
The event was held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Lagos State Government Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
Speaking at the event, Sanwo-Olu said Lagos State demanded the very best from his new cabinet, saying that they must be humble to learn.
According to Sanwo-Olu, the task of this new cabinet is to build on the successes of the Administration’s first four years in office.
He charged the new cabinet members to brace up as the expectations of the people have never been higher than they are right now.
“Doing your best to meet them is therefore not an option. It is the least you will be expected to do. Lagos is the Centre of Excellence; your work must be excellent in every ramification.
“Working together, carrying the people along, keeping your feet on the ground, and ensuring that every decision you take has the best interest of our people at the heart of it, are the surest ways to succeed. May God guide you in the effective discharge of your onerous responsibilities,” he said.
The governor said to ameliorate the traffic situation in the metropolis, his government implemented a Traffic Management Intervention Plan that saw the redesign of several traffic hotspots.
“This has led to an 86% reduction in gridlock in these areas. In the area of Mass Transit, we expanded the Rapid Bus System and launched the Last Mile Bus Service to complement it. In addition, we introduced LAGRIDE, a new Taxi services to add to the growing number of transportation options for our people.
“For Health and Environment, apart from our resounding and globally celebrated success in the management of COVID-19, we embarked on and built new world class Mother and Child Centres (MCC) in Badagry, Epe,and Ajah; and refurbished the General Hospitals in Gbagada, Epe, Badagry, Isolo and Lagos Island. We also introduced Tele-medicine into our Health management system, with the launch of the IleraEko app.
“As with many sectors of our national life, Lagos State has always set the pace in Education and Technology. This was no less so in our first term, as we established 2 new universities (the Lagos State University of Science and Technology, and the Lagos State University of Education). This makes us the only State with 3 State owned universities in the country. The primary and secondary levels also saw us investing in more than 1,000 projects to support our young leaners and their teachers,” he said.
The governor stated that over the past 100 Days of his second term, a lot more has happened, as government started by announcing the renaming of “our Governance Agenda to T.H.E.M.E.S+. This was in recognition of the necessity of incorporating Social Inclusion, Gender Equality and Youth Development into all our programmes. We will be laser focused on building a better and more equitable society. No one and no sector will be left behind in our journey to building a Greater Lagos.”
“Beyond the broad T.H.E.M.E.S+ agenda, our Second Term will be focused on building and completing enduring legacy projects in Transportation, Health and Agriculture that will open up more economic and developmental opportunities for the citizens of our great State.
“Already, in just the first 100 Days, we have witnessed the commencement of operations of the Blue Line Rail Service. What a joy it has been for me, and I am sure for millions of our people, to watch as Lagos finally joined the list of cities around the world with a modern and functional metro rail system. The journey to make this happen was long and tough. But we proved ourselves to be more durable and tougher.”
He added that the smiles on the faces of commuters already using the Blue Line would soon be replicated along the Agbado to Marina corridor where “we are putting finishing touches to the completion of the Red Line Rail Service. This route will encompass 13 Stations in iconic parts of Lagos like Iju, Agege, Ikeja, Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba, Ebute Meta and Ebute Ero.
“Still on Rail, we shall commence the extension of the Blue Line from Mile 2 to Okokomaiko. This will expand coverage of the service to millions more of our people. When completed and fully operational, the extended Blue Line and the Red Line will jointly serve over one and half million commuters daily. As many experts have stated, the benefits of this to our economy will be massive. More importantly, the improvement in the quality of life of our people will be palpable.”
The list of the Commissioners are:
*Lawal Mohammed Pedro (SAN) – Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General
*Prof. Akin Abayomi – Commissioner for Health
*Wahab Adetokunbo – Commissioner for the Environment
*Moruf Akinderu-Fata i- Commissioner for Housing
*Gbenga Omotoso – Commissioner for Information and Strategy
*Layode Ibrahim – Commissioner for Home Affairs
*Bolaji Cecilia Dada – Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA)
*Olusanya Abisola Ruth – Commissioner for Agriculture
*Abayomi Oluyomi – Commissioner for Finance
*Ayantayo Afolabi Waheed – Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions
*Oyerinde Olugbenga – Commissioner for Special Duties
*Adetoke Benson-Awoyinka – Commissioner for Tourism
*Ogunlende Mobolaji Abubakar – Commissioner for Youths and Social Development
*Yakub Ekundayo Alebiosu – Commissioner for Waterfront Development
*Mosopefoluwa George – Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget
*Olatunbosun Alake – Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology
*Alli-Balogun Jamiu Adedeji – Commissioner for Basic Education
*Bolaji Kayode Roberts – Commissioner for Local Government
*Osiyemi Oluwaseun – Commissioner for Transportation
*Ambrose Folashade Kaosara – Bada-Commissioner, Industry, Trade and Investment
*Dr. Oluyinka Abiodun Olumide – Commissioner for Physical planning
*Akinyemi Bankole Ajigbotafe – Commissioner for Wealth creation
*Tolani Sule Akibu – Commissioner for Tertiary Education
Special Advisers
*Dr. Fashola Rotimi – Special Adviser, Agriculture
*Engr. Adeyinka Lukmon – Special Adviser for Works and Infrastructure
*Dr. Finnih Awokoya Oreoluwa – Special Adviser, Health
*Dr. Iyabo Ayoola Oyeyemi – Special Adviser, Central internal Audit
*Olajide Abiodun Babatunde – Special Adviser, EGIS and Urban Planning
*Rotimi Akodu Oladosu – Special Adviser, Environment
*Ogungbo Abdul-Kadir Opeyemi – Special Adviser, Taxation and Revenue
*Aregbe Olayiwola Idris – Special Adviser, Tourism
*Lawal Bola Olumegbon – Special Adviser, Central Business District (CBD)
*Barr. Barakat Olawunmi Bakare – Special Adviser, Housing
*Dr. Afolabi Abiodun Tajudeen – Special Adviser, Political and Civic Engagement
*Dr. Nurudeen Yekini-Agbaje Lanre – Special Adviser, Rural Development and Chieftaincy Affairs
*Sola Giwa – Special Adviser, Transportation
*Engr. Moshood Olowu – Special Adviser, Commerce