General
Lagos Unveils 10-Year Smart City Plan
By Ahmed Rahma
The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Tuesday, outlined the key infrastructural deliverables being undertaken by his administration for the achievement of the Smart City agenda.
The Governor shared his vision for the state at the 8th Lagos Economic Summit, known as Ehingbeti and themed Greater Lagos: Setting the Tone for the Next Decade. The event was facilitated by the organised private sector in support of the state government.
In his address, Mr Sanwo-Olu disclosed that the race to digitise every community in Lagos has begun with the ongoing laying of 6,000-kilometre fibre optic infrastructure across the city, stressing that the Smart City plan would fully materialise by 2030 when the entire landscape of Lagos would have been covered by a network of several thousands of kilometres of fibre optic carrying broadband internet into all homes, offices and schools.
According to him, the move is to leverage technology to revolutionise business culture in Lagos by energising Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) that form the backbone of the State economy.
He said, “I invite every well-meaning Nigerian to join me to look ahead at the next decade, and the possibilities that lie ahead for Lagos.
“What will Lagos State look like by 2030? There will be a city-wide network of colour-coded Metro Lines, the first two of which – Red and Blue lines – will move over 34.5 million people monthly, cutting travel time by over 250 per cent.
“In 2030, Lagos will proudly stand beside every other megacity in the world, in terms of its capacity to transport its people efficiently and responsively.”
Speaking further, he noted that “Water transportation infrastructure being put in place will make waterway transport systems a central element of life in the metropolis.
“The Fourth Mainland Bridge will come to define the cityscape of the 2020s in the same way the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge defined it a decade earlier.
“By 2030, Lagos will be a Smart City, fully covered by a network of several thousands of kilometres of fibre optic infrastructure that will carry broadband internet into homes, offices and schools.”
Additionally, Mr Sanwo-Olu said, “The Smart City that is unfolding will also be home to a network of intelligent cameras that will support not only security and policing across the State, but also traffic management and data collection for urban planning.
“By 2030, Lagos will be home to one of the largest Rice Mills in the world, after we deliver our 32 metric tons per hour rice factory in Imota, which will produce 2.8 million bags of 50kg bags of rice per annum.”
The Governor said the implementation of the plan would not only create millions of direct jobs for skilled youths, but it would also empower women, who own substantial MSMEs in Lagos, adding that plans were underway in the state to reverse the tide of billions lost nationally to medical tourism.
He disclosed that Lagos was pushing ahead with a move to develop a Medical Park in Ikoyi in partnership with the private sector, which is expected to offer world-class medical and diagnostic services stating that his administration’s development blueprint, known as Project THEMES, was designed to build on the achievements of previous administrations and lay foundations for future growth.
Mr Sanwo-Olu, having reviewed the progress recorded within the past decade, said there was so much to be celebrated in the State, but added that so much was needed to be done in expanding the frontiers of growth in Lagos.
The Ehingbeti summit, which is largely virtual, has some sessions to be held physically at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island. It is co-chaired by the chairman of Citi Bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso.
It is an initiative introduced in 2000 as a biennial event aimed at creating a credible forum to discuss and formulate policies for accelerating infrastructural development and stimulating economic growth for Lagos.
The event was virtually attended by President Muhammadu Buhari; the newly appointed Director-General of World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; President of Africa Development Bank, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina; and founder of Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, among others.
The WTO Director-General made a case for the creation of massive industrial hubs to harness the potential of the youth and women in artificial intelligence and the digital economy.
She commended the Lagos Government’s action to build digital infrastructure around the city, noting that the fibre optic programme makes the state a new manufacturing hub of digital products that will shape the global economy in the next decade.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria recorded 57 recorded cases of electricity-related mishaps, according to the latest electricity sector data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The data, which covers the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025), spotlighted how 33 people lost their lives and another 33 sustained various degrees of injuries in power-related accidents across the country.
According to the Q3 2025 report, a total of 57 power-related accidents were reported across the country during the period under review.
The accidents were spread across several distribution zones, with Ikeja and Kano electricity distribution areas recording the highest number of incidents during the quarter.
Both zones reported 10 accidents each. Ikeja also recorded six injuries and four deaths, while Kano posted six deaths and four injuries.
While Abuja, Jos, Aba, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Yola recorded varying but still troubling levels of incidents, Eko, Kaduna, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) also featured prominently. In many of these cases, accidents resulted in either severe injuries or fatalities, or both.
Unsafe acts and hazardous conditions accounted for the highest number of injuries and tied for the highest number of fatalities, while wire snaps emerged as one of the deadliest hazards, accounting for 10 fatalities and seven injuries during the quarter.
The report noted that 10 deaths and 18 injuries were attributed to unsafe practices or conditions, pointing to a mix of human error, poor safety culture, and inadequate enforcement of operational standards by licensees.
Illegal or unauthorised access to electricity installations also contributed to the casualty figures, leading to two fatalities and three injuries during the period under review.
Vandalism, while responsible for fewer casualties in the quarter, still resulted in two deaths.
The report also noted that the TCN recorded four cases of damage to property and infrastructure arising from explosions, fire outbreaks, or acts of vandalism during the quarter.
However, NERC said it initiated investigations into all reported accidents and signalled its intention to enforce appropriate actions where necessary.
The regulator said it organised periodic health and safety managers’ meetings aimed at improving safety performance across the industry, where it brings together health and safety officers from electricity companies to review incident reports, share lessons learned, and identify areas requiring urgent improvement.
During the period under consideration, the regulator disclosed that it supervised the successful conclusion of two compensation negotiations between electricity companies and families of victims, an indication of ongoing efforts to address the aftermath of such incidents.
However, the report showed that in the previous quarter (Q2), 38 fatalities were recorded, 19 persons were injured, and 60 accidents were reported.
“Relative to 2025/Q2, the number of accidents decreased from 60 to 57, the number of fatalities decreased from 38 to 33, but the number of injuries increased from 19 to 33,” the NERC report stressed.
“During the quarter, all the accidents occurred at the distribution level, i.e., neither TCN nor any of the Gencos recorded safety accidents. Although all Discos recorded casualties, the licensees with the highest number of casualties out of the total 66 recorded during the quarter are Ikeja and Kano (10), Eko and Kaduna (8), representing 15.15 per cent and 12.12 per cent of the total, respectively.
“This quarter continues the trend of the distribution sub-segment being the biggest driver of safety accidents in the sector. Discos accounted for 93.33 per cent, 100 per cent, and 100 per cent in 2024/Q4, 2025/Q1, and 2025/Q2, respectively,” the NERC report pointed out.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Contrary to reports making the rounds, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly is not considering passing a bill to make it a criminal offence for single ladies having romantic affairs with married men in the state.
On Monday, unconfirmed news went viral, purporting that a phantom Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mrs Akon Etim, had sponsored a bill to ensure single ladies having sexual relationship with married men spend 10 years in prison, while the men pay a fine of N2 million.
It was claimed that the bill was to be passed by the state parliament, today, Tuesday, January 13, 2026.
Business Post reports that the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State is Mrs Akon Eyakenyi, not Mrs Akon Etim.
Reacting to the reports, the chairman of the House Committee on Information, Mr Jerry Anson Otu, described the reports as “false.”
“The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly wishes to categorically state that this report is entirely false and has no basis in fact. The Assembly has not received or considered any such bill, and the Deputy Governor has not sponsored it.
“We condemn this malicious attempt to tarnish the image of the Deputy Governor and the Assembly, and urge the public to disregard this fake news and any associated commentaries.
“The House remains committed to its constitutional role of law-making, and will not be swayed by mischievous attempts to undermine its integrity,” parts of the statement issued by the parliament stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is eyeing stronger diplomatic and strategic ties when it comes to sustainable development as it participates in the 2026 edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW).
President Bola Tinubu arrived in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Sunday. His plane landed at the Presidential Wing of Zayed International Airport at exactly 11:30 pm local time.
He was received by Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi; Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar; and members of the Nigerian diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi.
Several other ministers, including the Minister of Budget and Planning, Mr Atiku Bagudu; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Jumoke Oduwole; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mr Mohammed Mohammed, welcomed President Tinubu at his hotel.
President Tinubu arrived in Abu Dhabi from Europe, where he spent part of his end-of-year break, engaging in fruitful discussions with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a statement by the presidency.
The 2026 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, with the theme The Nexus of Next, All Systems Go, is a global platform that brings together world leaders, policymakers, investors, and experts to advance dialogue and action on sustainable development, climate action, energy transition, and inclusive economic growth.
This visit further reinforces the strong diplomatic and economic ties between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while positioning Nigeria as an active contributor to global conversations on sustainable development.
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