PRESS RELEASE
…All Public Servants Now Enrolled On Ilera Eko Health Scheme
…As Lagos First Lady Flags Off Town Hall Meeting For Beneficiaries Of Equity Fund

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has so far approved N750 Million from the equity fund for the payment of health insurance premiums for 100,000 vulnerable and indigent residents of the state in line with the goal of ensuring universal health coverage for all.

The First Lady, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu disclosed this on Wednesday while flagging off a Town Hall meeting with the beneficiaries of the health insurance equity fund organized by the Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA) which is the agency saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that all residents have access to quality and affordable healthcare services through health insurance.

She said the equity fund which is funded through the 1 % (percent) set aside from the state’s Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) was to ensure that a sizeable proportion of the population who could not afford health insurance premiums due to a number of factors including economic status and physical disabilities were not left behind in accessing healthcare services as part of government’s social protection plan.

Represented by the wife of the state’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mrs. Funmi Omotoso, the First Lady said the plan of the state government to promote the health of Lagosians had been anchored on health insurance, adding that huge investment has been expended in health insurance since the inception of the present administration.

“Through this effort, the government provides financial protection to the poor when they seek healthcare services to boost their purchasing capacities and stimulate economic growth. The Ilera Eko Equity Fund is part of the effort by the State government to provide social protection to the poor.

“Similar initiatives have also been launched including Maternal Infant Child Development and the Social Welfare Integrated Program Initiative (SWIPI). Most recently, Mr. Governor also launched an integrated social protection policy for the State government.

“Since the inception of this administration, Mr. Governor has approved the payment of over N750,000,000 which has been used to pay the health insurance premiums of 100,000 residents of the State. In the short term, this has facilitated access to healthcare by a group of people who cannot afford to go to the hospital and, in the long term, will improve the health outcomes in the State,” the First Lady said.

She also said it was gratifying that all public servants in Lagos have been successfully onboarded on the Ilera Eko health scheme, while Lagos became the first State in Nigeria to commence health insurance regulations.

She said the town hall with the beneficiaries which will take place across the five administrative divisions of the state namely Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos Island and Epe, was designed to get feedback and seek ways to improve access to health care by every resident of the State.

She, therefore, urged all beneficiaries to spread the good news of Ilera Eko equity fund to all and sundry, and most importantly take the full benefit of the laudable scheme.

In his welcome remarks, the Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi commended the attention devoted to the health and wellbeing of residents by the Governor, saying it was on record that the present administration has deployed numerous health initiatives to improve the standard of living and quality of life of the people.

He commended LASHMA for the great efforts to improve access to healthcare services, just as he revealed that the agency was on the verge of rolling out an innovative health financing initiative to raise funds from philanthropists, organizations, and donors to crowdfund health insurance premiums and adoption of indigents and the vulnerable on the scheme.

Also speaking, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr. Olusina Thorpe who represented the Commissioner, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, said sound health remains the foundation of everything in life without which life would be meaningless.

According to him, “health is everything. All over the world, there is no government that can adequately fund health services. This is why the health insurance program put in place by the Lagos State Government is the way to go and we must encourage more people to enroll,” Thorpe said.

Responding to questions at the event, LASHMA’s General Manager, Dr. Emmanuella Zamba said the agency was working in partnership with the Primary Healthcare Board to continuously increase the number of Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) offering insurance healthcare services gradually, while the government was firming up actions to ensure that all PHCs in the state are fully functional.

She said the Ilera Eko plan also has provisions for the care of senior citizens, as well as cancer treatment to some extent, just as she said that with an increased number of enrollees, LASHMA would be able to drop the cost and expand the services.

SIGNED
OLUBUKONLA NWONAH
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, PUBLIC AFFAIRS
OFFICE OF LAGOS STATE FIRST LADY
APRIL 20, 2022

APC REJECTS CONSENSUS, APPROVES INDIRECT PRIMARIES, ONE HUNDRED MILLION NAIRA FOR PRESIDENTIAL FORMS

The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has fixed the cost of its presidential expression of interest and nomination forms at N100 million.
The spokesperson of the party, Felix Morka, disclosed this at the end of the emergency National Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja.
He said the expression of interest form is N30 million while the nomination form is N70 million.
For governors, the party approved N50 million for both nomination and expression of interest, while Senate and House of Representatives aspirants are to pay N20 million and N10 million respectively.
Those for states legislative seats are to pay N2 million for both forms.

NOBODY WILL BE ALLOWED TO DESTABILISE NIGERIA – PRESIDENT BUHARI VOWS
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja urged Nigerians to resist agents bent on causing breakdown of law and order in the country, assuring that no individual or group will be allowed to destabilise Nigeria.
‘‘We have the land, we have the resources, and we have the people. But I do not know why people will allow themselves to be successfully subverted to destabilise their own country,’’ the President said at an Iftar dinner with Governors, Ministers and Heads of Government Agencies.
President Buhari, who thanked the Governors and Ministers for honouring his invitation to break the Ramadan fast, expressed confidence that in spite of the current security challenges, the country will succeed.
On the forthcoming general elections, the President affirmed that being beneficiary of free, fair and credible elections, the introduction of technology and the Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) will make it impossible for anyone to claim millions of votes again in the country.
Chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum and Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, commended President Buhari for demonstrating resilience and determination at a crucial period in Nigeria’s history.
‘‘We have a leader who is not distracted by momentary challenges but has continued to commit to the renewal of our nation and we, governors, ministers and heads of government agencies are equally dedicated to building a better Nigeria, on your watch,’’ he said.
Noting that this year’s Holy month of Ramadan coincided with the just concluded Christian Lenten period, the Governor of Ekiti said it holds enormous spiritual value on the benefits of renewal, sacrifice, almsgiving, forgiveness and healing for the individual as well as the nation.
Femi Adesina
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
April 19, 2022

PRESS RELEASE

SANWO-OLU PERFORMS GROUNDBREAKING OF $250MILLION HYPERSCALE DATA CENTER IN LAGOS

•We’re deeply committed to rapid transformation of Lekki corridor, industrial hub – Governor

•Ex-Minister, Frank Nweke, commends Sanwo-Olu on investment, security

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Tuesday performed a groundbreaking ceremony of a $250million hyperscale data center by Kasi Cloud Limited in Lekki Peninsula, saying his administration is deeply committed to the rapid transformation of the Lekki corridor and other industrial hubs in the State.

He said his government is committed to using education and technology, which is the second pillar of the THEMES development agenda, as a tool to create a 21st Century Lagos that the people of the State dream of and talk about.

The Governor made the statement on Tuesday while performing the groundbreaking ceremony of the $250m Kasi Cloud Data Centre at Leisure Land by Theme Park Site along Maiyegun- Lekki Beach Road, Lekki Peninsula II in Lagos.

The Kasi Data Center, a four-hectares of land, will provide an interconnection and data center platform for Nigeria to support digital ecosystems and drive internet access to over 200 million people. And as the technology hub of Nigeria and West Africa, Lagos State will host the data center, which will be the largest in the country, with numerous economic benefits and nurturing the future generations.

Governor Sanwo-Olu said the data center will create jobs, attract additional investment and deliver high-speed internet access that will be transformational for emerging and existing digital ecosystems.

“On our part as a State Government, we are deeply committed to the rapid transformation of the Lekki corridor, as well as every other industrial hub in the State. We are demonstrating this commitment through policies and interventions designed to improve the business environment, to reform critical government institutions and systems and to unlock new levels of innovative thinking among our people, especially our youth.

“We realise that the people of Lagos are the most formidable assets that we have. They are the ones who will write the narrative of this megacity now and into the future. We must educate and upskill them, to prepare them for the rapidly evolving working environment of the 21st century. We want to use education and technology as a tool to be able to create a 21st Century Lagos that we all dream and talk about,” he said.

Governor Sanwo-Olu while commending Kasi Cloud Limited for building the data center in Lagos, said what KASI is doing is a testament to the capacity and capability of Nigerians to dream world-class dreams and convert those dreams into reality.

“The economic impact that digital infrastructure improvement has on nation-building cannot be overemphasised. The siting of the new infrastructure in this part of Lagos is also not by accident. This is the fastest-growing corridor of the State, home to several large-scale industrial, manufacturing and logistics investments,” he said.

Speaking at the event, former Minister of Information and Enugu State 2023 gubernatorial aspirant, Mr. Frank Nweke (Jnr), commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for positioning Lagos as a pre-eminent destination for investment in Nigeria and indeed the continent of Africa.

He said: “What is happening here today is not an accident at all. And it is on this basis that I want to pay my respect to Mr. Governor and his colleagues in Lagos State for positioning Lagos as a preeminent destination for investment in Nigeria and indeed the continent of Africa. I salute your investment in security. I salute your humility.

“The other reason why I am here today is to draw anointing from you as a gubernatorial aspirant in Enugu State and to also take a few lessons. I know that security is important and I know that even your understanding and knowledge of the economy, the local environment, national and global environment is extremely important. So, in the coming days, I am going to be visiting you just to do some kind of apprenticeship under you to ensure that when I become governor of Enugu by God’s grace, that I can follow your footsteps and do the kind of things we are doing here today.”

In his address, the Founder and CEO of Kasi Cloud Limited, Mr. Johnson Agogbua, who said the data center by his organisation will create jobs opportunity and investment in the community, commended the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration for its commitment to technology and innovation development in Lagos State.

SIGNED
GBOYEGA AKOSILE
CHIEF PRESS SECRETARY
19 APRIL 2022