Why Lagos rail project is delayed — Ayorinde

Gov. Akinwumi Ambode came on with a lot of promises to make life easier for Lagosians. His information commissioner, Steve Ayorinde, tells Segun Elijah how much the governor has done in eight months, and how big his undertakings are in the next three years.

What change can Lagosians feel comparing Gov. Ambode’s administration with the last?
There’s no basis for comparison. The last administration spent eight years; this is barely eight months. We’ve said it’s a government of continuity with improvement. Every project the last administration left behind Ambode is completing. And if you take the issue of security for instance, you will see continuity on the one hand, and improvement on the other. The Rapid Response Squad was former Gov. Bola Tinubu’s concept. When ex-Gov. Fashola came in, he introduced the Security Trust Fund. What Gov. Ambode did was to add more. He rebranded the RRS, and made a donation of N4.8 billion to the police. That is the biggest of its kind by any state government intervention in security. Don’t forget that policing is the responsibility of the federal government. But Gov. Ambode did that because the security requirement in Lagos of about 21 million people is more than any other state’s in Nigeria. Lagos now has three helicopters, two gunboats, 15 Amoured Personnel Carriers, and other things that will make policing easier. An addendum to that is the Light Up Project. You will see Lagos now wears a new look in terms of street lighting – even as far as the Third Mainland Bridge which belongs to the federal government. The whole idea is the security will be more enhanced if there’s light.

What can the wealth creation ministry and the Youth Employment Programme achieve in Nigeria’s business environment, and that of Lagos, believed to be unfriendly?
What the governor promised Lagosians is beginning to materialise. Gov. Ambode has signed into law N25 billion – the first of its kind by any state government–for a youth employment programme. This involves money from the state government and the private sector. It’s targeted at creating jobs for those who can’t meet the conditions for getting bank loans. The only condition it requires is that you are a bona fide Lagosian and you are going into whatever business you propose. We are talking about a loan of between N100,000 and N1 million you need to set up barber shops, business centres, and others where you can employ one or two people.

What about the unfriendly business environment?
I don’t know what you mean by that. People complain of double taxation, problem of getting loans from banks, and all that I believe it’s a question of clarification. I don’t believe taxation and loans constitute an unfriendly business environment. About double taxation: I believe people say things that are not true. It doesn’t exist in the sense of paying a tax here to the state, and paying the same tax there to the federal government. Lagos will not require taxes from you in duplicates or triplicates. There may be levies like VATs, PAYEs, and those collected by the local governments, including advertising, signage, and others. And these are not peculiarly Nigerian. Countries who don’t rely on oil run generally on taxes. Did you know that 40 percent of VATs generated in Nigeria comes from Lagos and goes to Abuja? But the governor is ready to make the state business-friendlier. Things investors look for are things as small as signing of a C-of-O on time. Gov. Ambode has signed over 5,000 in the last eight months for property owners and business promoters. A C-of-O guarantees more than security. It’s also a tool for collateralising bank facilities. Consider the fact that 91.1 percent of the Direct Foreign Investment in Nigeria so far comes to Lagos. If the atmosphere had been business-unfriendly, they would have gone to other places.

Former Gov. Fashola was said to have polarised the state’s politics before he left. How is Gov. Ambode managing that?
The burden of leadership is to play politics in a way that ensure that the party and the state are doing well, and in good stead. It doesn’t require any overt politics. That’s how it happens all over the world. Obama had a running battle with Hillary in his first term. And many thought it was going to affect Obama’s second term. Guess what? He won the second term, and Hillary became his secretary of state, the No. 3 citizen in the U.S. The APC in Lagos didn’t lose a single member to the opposition in spite of the hard race that produced Ambode as governor. He’s been able to rally everybody behind him. He’s doing well, and the people are applauding him. They believe in his ability to represent the state well, and as such be a good ambassador of the APC.

The governor must have realised he needs to take some tough measures to administer Lagos. Can you imagine him trading off his compassion for the big stick?
What does it require to wield the big stick? He just makes the pronouncement, and it becomes a law. He’s not the one that will go out there and apprehend the thief or the driver doing one way. It’s the job of the enforcers. And when a governor says this is the direction, his instruction will be carried out. Should that rub him of his innate kindness as a human being and leader? I don’t think so. He will always get the job done while not losing his attribute as a compassionate gentleman,

What has changed in the last seven months in traffic management in Lagos?
Three things are important in managing traffic: fix the road, control traffic, and encourage more people to take public transport system. We have fixed more than 300 roads across the state, and have delivered on two new roads: the Ayobo-Ipaja and the Ikotun-Egbeda roads. Early on, the governor was interested in showing compassion because he felt that LASTMA officials were being high-handed. He was moved to say let us use technology to drive the traffic management rather than continuing the LASTMA dehumanising approach. When we realised people took advantage of the compassionate gesture, we now had series of stakeholders meeting and a summit on traffic management. We realised we would no longer be able to continue in that direction we wanted LASTMA to take. We then restored full enforcement – though within the ambit of law. And enforcement will have to have some bite. That has reduced traffic the traffic problem, as you can see. We are also trying to expand other routes like the Ikorodu to Mile 12 route. We have pumped in 430 BRT buses with air conditioners and facilities for people living with disabilities. Our research shows about 15 percent of car owners now join the BRT.

What about the $200 million just approved for Lagos?
What was approved last month was the second tranche of the $600 million World Bank-assisted loan for infrastructure development. Gov. Fashola accessed the first tranche. It has a moderate interest rate. If one’s size of economy can encourage the loan you are seeking, then it’s okay. That loan is meant to complete existing project, and undertake new ones.

Lagosians are wondering when will activities begin on the loan?
After a month? No. It’s part of the money we are using to complete the Blue Line rail from Mile 2 to Okoko. By December this year, that will be completed. We have also secured approval for the Red Line rail. The approval will allow us to use the Nigeria Railway corridor from Alagbado to V.I. It’s same type of facility we use in kick-starting these after delivering on the Blue Line.

There are the inland waterways project, the fly-over construction, and many more proposed. Isn’t he biting more than he can chew?
Not necessarily. You know Asiwaju started the BRT project, but Fashola completed it. Fashola started the Red Line rail project, and Ambode will complete. He won’t have to complete all his projects. There are some he will initiate and complete just as Fashola completed the Ikoyi-Lekki link bridge. For instance, Ambode is starting two flyovers this year at Abule Egba and Ajah, which will be completed in 16 months – by May next year when Lagos will be 50. Those two have been awarded and captured in this year’s budget. There are other projects we are embarking on to make life easier for Nigerians. By May this year you will have seen the direction in terms of infrastructure. You can glean that from this year’s budget. For the first time, 58 percent of the budget is for capital projects. It is the best you can get in Nigeria. And in two years’ time, nobody will be in doubt that a very competent governor has been appointed.

As an accountant, the governor will be a saver – like ex-Gov. Peter Obi who claimed he left N90 billion behind. But development experts said Obi just pinched pennies at the expense of Anambra’s development. Why won’t that happen with Ambode?
At Ambode’s first town hall meeting, part of his achievements was that he was able to save N3 billion monthly. But we are not like the example you just gave. Ours is financial engineering that shows ingenuity and understanding of how the economy runs. You know Lagos is also as indebted as other states. But the governor has consolidated all the debts and their tenors so he could get a better deal and save for other uses. Rather than paying the 18 percent we’d been paying before, we now pay 12.5 percent. So rather than pay about N5 billion monthly servicing the debt, we now pay N1.9 billion. The N3 billion saved is now channelled into other use. The first N3 billion was used in kick-starting the job creation programme. Every year, the government will have to put in N6 billion. So the success of the job creation initiative is already guaranteed. The governor has been able to change the financial situation of the state as far as the loan servicing is concerned.