The Lagos State Government has approved the re-opening of schools for all classes in public and private schools across the state with effect from Monday, November 2, 2020, while boarders in public schools are to resume on Sunday, November 1.

According to a tweet post from the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on New Media, Gawat Jubril on his official Twitter handle, this was disclosed by the Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folasade Adefisayo, on Thursday, October 29, 2020.

In her statement, Adefisayo said, “This has been an unprecedented year with the recent happenings that have regrettably led to frequent closure of schools with attendant learning disruptions faced by all children.”

“We pray and hope that there will be no more disruptions in the academic calendar. However, the State Government will always regard the safety of pupils/students, parents and all staff as a matter of priority.” She stressed.”

“We recommend that when schools resume on Monday, teaching and learning should continue unhindered till the end of the term,” she added.

The Commissioner, therefore, advised pupils/students to take their studies more seriously in a bid to recover the lost period and thereby excel.

FLASH: The Lagos State Government has approved the re-opening of schools for all classes in public and private schools across the State beginning from Monday, 2nd of November, 2020 while boarders in public schools are to resume on Sunday, 1st of the same month. pic.twitter.com/vQQRM3wOVR

— Gawat Jubril A. (@Mr_JAGss) October 29, 2020

The Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has expressed the readiness of the House of Representatives to resolve the strike issues of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and empower Nigerian youths. 

This statement was made by the Speaker during a meeting in his office, with a group of young lawmakers under the aegis of ”Young Parliamentarians Forum” of the National Assembly. 

Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila reiterates Reps’ determination to empower Nigerian youths

The House of Representatives is determined and ready to empower the Nigerian youth to make them competitive globally, the Speaker of the House, Rep. @femigbaja, said on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/RpGY4IieGm

— Speaker of the House of Representatives (@SpeakerGbaja) October 28, 2020

The Speaker reiterated that some of the demands of the youth following the #EndSARS protests would be addressed constitutionally, as part of the decision was to reform the Police, in a quest to accommodate a better and more reformed Police.  

On youth empowerment, the Speaker said a lot still needs to be done, he explained further that no Nigerian government has done more than what the present administration has done. 

What they are saying 

Speaker of the House of Representatives, while speaking on the determination of the House Representatives on youth empowerment, said, 

“All of us, every segment of the government, especially the House of Representatives, before the protests took the initiative, debated motions and took far-reaching decisions on the floor. We gave ourselves 30 days, and since then, we’ve been working night and day, especially with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). 

“We thought the best way to go about it is to amend the Police Service Commission Act and that has been done, and the report has been concluded. Soon, it will be published and be on the floor.” 

“We are determined to resolve the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) matter, and if we can resolve two out of three issues, I think we would have gone a long way to help the lecturers who are on strike.” 

“There’s a bill on vocational education, I think from the 8th Assembly – that was even my bill. We’ll pick it up again and pass it to you (Young Parliamentarians Group) to polish it up and add it to whatever ideas you have.” 

While speaking on the giant strides by the current administration in terms of youth empowerment, the Speaker said,

“I make bold to say that no government, in Nigerian history from inception, and I stand to be corrected, has put in as much in youth empowerment as this present government.” 

“Facts don’t lie, a government that has devoted N500bn to youth empowerment every year. There’s Trader Moni, N-Power, and several others – they are all there. This government has done a lot about youth empowerment and is ready to do more. We can never be bereft of ideas.

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday announced the shutdown of the Adekunle to Adeniji section of the Third Mainland Bridge for the second round of repairs, with effect from midnight of Friday, October 30, 2020, to Sunday, November 1, 2020 – 3 days.

Accroding to Channels TV, the disclosure was made in a statement by the Commissioner for Transportation, Frederic Oladeinde, and signed by Bolanle Ogunlola, on behalf of the Ministry of Transportation’s Public Affairs Unit, on Wednesday, October 28, 2020.

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Ogunlola said the move is in “furtherance of the partial closure of the Third Mainland Bridge occasioned by the ongoing first phase rehabilitation works nearing completion.”

The statement partly reads, “The Lagos State Government has announced that there will be a total closure of the Adekunle to Adeniji section of the bridge for the second time, from midnight of Friday 30th October to Sunday 1st November 2020.’’

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Oladeinde said, “This second phase closure of the repair works is coming two weeks behind schedule, as a result of delays occasioned by the recent mayhem around the Lagos metropolis.”

He pointed out that the decision to close the section of the bridge for repairs is to prevent vibrations on the bridge during the casting-in-place of the newly installed expansion joints, which in turn will allow the special concrete achieve its required compressive strength.

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The Transport Commissioner had earlier explained that the casting of the expansion joints would be in two phases due to the number of expansion joints that will be cast and to effectively manage the attendant traffic;  hence, repair works slated for weekends to minimize inconveniences that may arise from the total closure.

While commending residents of the state for being patient since the commencement of the project, the commissioner hinted that the previous alternative routes remain the same for road users to utilize during the closure period, while LASTMA and other Traffic Management Agencies will be on the ground to direct traffic for easy vehicular movement.

READ: #EndSARS: Lagos State needs N1 trillion to rebuild losses – Gbajabiamila

He also “assured that the section of the bridge between Adekunle and Iyana–Oworo still remains open, as well as Ebute Metta outbound section into Iyana-Oworo.”

What you should know

Nairametrics had reported the partial closure of the Third Mainland bridge by the Federal Government for maintenance work for a period of 6 months with effect from July 24, 2020. A few weeks ago, the government announced a total shutdown of the bridge for 3 days to vehicular movement

READ: FG, Lagos to begin works on alternative routes

This is to enable the contractors to carry out special repair works and complete the first stage of casting works on the bridge.