The Lagos State Government on Friday assured residents that they will very soon be served with 70 million gallons of pipe-borne water per day.
The State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotosho, made this known while speaking at a programme tagged “Citizen Engagement Forum,” held at Alausa, Ikeja, and organised by his ministry.
The commissioner assured Lagos residents that pipe-borne water would be available to them, notwithstanding the challenges the state government was facing, saying that the challenges were being faced head-on.
Omotosho explained that the state government had since signed an agreement with the Ogun State Government, who owned the water reservoir in Adiyan, where Lagos State was expecting to get the water supply, saying that the sum of N600 million had been paid to the Ogun State Government for the supply of the 70 million gallons of water per day.
On the health sector, Omotosho said a new general hospital located in Ojo in Ojo Local Government Area of the state shall be commissioned, noting that the hospital, rated as one of the best in the state in terms of facilities, would be an addition to the existing general hospitals in the state, which were built decades ago.
The commissioner further disclosed that an additional 500-bed health centre is to be built at Ikosi Ejinrin, saying that a Mental Health Centre was being built in Epe, even as he asserted that the Massey Hospital, Lagos Island, currently under construction, would be the best in sub-Saharan Africa when completed as, according to him, all facilities that will aid easy delivery of pregnant mothers shall be provided.
“The General Hospital in Ojo is one of the very best that the health sector can showcase around this time. This is the first general hospital the Lagos State Government is building in a decade.
“Apart from that, around Epe, we are building a Mental Health Centre. People go to hospitals to treat malaria and not many of us talk about mental health. All over the world, because of economic situations, because of social factors, so many other things that affect mental health, this is a formidable attempt.
“In health, we are also building the Massey Street Children’s Hospital, which will be the best in sub-Saharan Africa. It is all about bringing down infant mortality.
“This is aimed at addressing infant mortality and improving healthcare. Our women will no longer have to worry about the inadequacies they face while giving birth. We are also tackling childbirth syndrome, which has affected the health sector,” he stated.
The commissioner said the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration was committed to easing the movement of the people in the state, pointing out that it had invested generously in improving the three means of transportation, including water, rail, and road, by building more road networks and repairing the existing roads.
“The year 2024 was a very challenging year, the coming on board of the Red Line is an interesting and exciting thing to me. People felt it took us a long time to complete the Blue Rail Line.
“We are not relenting on transportation. Apart from what you see in ferry launching, 10 additional ferries shall be commissioned soon to make it 25. We are bringing up all the three forms of transportation, 16 jetties are ready for commissioning soon in areas like Ibeshe, Ilashe, Liverpool and others,” he said.
Besides, Omotosho added that the state government is also planning to have an international airport in order to reduce pressure on the Murtala International Airport in Ikeja.
The commissioner disclosed that everything needed for the take-off of the airport, which shall be located in Lekki, had been put in place, maintaining that the agreement to set up the international airport in Lekki had since been signed.
On the provision of street lights across the state, the commissioner said the state had resorted to the usage of solar by erecting 2,000 solar lights, recalling that a total of N600 million was being spent per month to power generators that supplied street lights when the Sanwo-Olu administration came on board, which he noted was no longer economical.
READ MORE FROM: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
