The Executive Chairman of Ibeju Lekki Local Government-Engr. Abdullahi Sesan Olowa, also known as “Jaja,” has become a household name in grassroots governance. This is as a result of the development and impact his administration has made across Ibeju-Lekki.
Little wonder, he was chosen as the Chairman of Conference 57, when the local government chairmen were sworn in by Mr. Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu at the conclusion of the local government elections in Y2025.
In an exclusive interview with Khal-El Media, Engineer Abdullahi Sesan Olowa gave an insight into how his administration has transformed the local government to become the cynosure of all eyes.
Below is an excerpt of the interview.
Khal-El: Good afternoon sir. Please can we meet you?
Chairman: Good afternoon! My name is Hon. Engineer Abdullahi Sesan Olowa-The Executive Chairman of Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area. I am also The Chairman of Conference 57.
Khal-El: Sir, what are the things that brought about the many innovations Ibeju-Lekki is witnessing in your administration over the years, which have impacted positively in the lives of residents?
Chairman: Thank you for the question! When there is innovation, there is a degree of value. When we bring innovation to government, it means we are bringing in innovative solutions to issues that are probably social, political and economic. So in Ibeju-Lekki, we identified a number of challenges in the critical sectors such as, environment, education, and health. And then, we proffered solutions that are a bit more than the usual.
In the environment sector, we introduced our own local PSP-“Ibeju -Lekki Garbage Collection”, which addresses the issue of refuse management. Thus; residents are now ever more conscious of how to manage their waste. In fact, we have made the anyhow dumping of refuse anywhere a thing of the past; It is illegal and uncultured. A lot of our people are now looking at it from the perspective of not being civil. This is because, government is more intentional about it.
We also created a lot of opportunities for jobs as a result. Majority of our young people are now riders, they earn a living through that sector and we can also call that innovation.
Under education, we have been able to form strategic alliances with notable institutions to help our pupils in their studies. You can see what we are doing with The Pan-Atlantic University. This is an innovation because for the first time, a local government is working with a private university and the impact is being felt. More so, we have seen improvement in their performance and there are data to support this claim. When we started, the number of those who were able to gain scholarships into that institution were few but today, we have more students who have gained scholarships in this regard.
In the health sector, we have invested in our Primary Healthcare Centers. A lot of them are now very functional. If you go to Awoyaya, Ibeju, Aiyetedu, Solo, Alade, Orimedu and many other places, a lot of them are up and running because we have been able to improve the infrastructure, we have been able to provide furniture, equipment and not just that; we were able to hire qualified healthcare professionals- midwives, nurses, doctors, laboratory scientists and all of them are working hard, just to make sure that our people are able to get quality healthcare service delivery.
We did not stop at that, we also offered health insurance to the elderly, the vulnerable, widows, and many others such that, they could have access to it.
A lot of these things are happening simultaneously because the local government administration has improved significantly across all the sectors vis-a-vis: health, environment, works and infrastructure among others.
We are constructing new road networks and not just anyhow roads. For instance, this secretariat used to be very very bad in terms of infrastructure, but today it can be ranked as one of the top local government secretariats in Lagos State and ditto in Nigeria. Thus; our working government is good to members of staff which in turn has improved the cycle of production.
Khal-El: How have you impacted on Lagosians as Chairman of Conference 57?
Chairman: As the Chairman of Conference 57, our core responsibility is to the people at the grassroots. We are doing a lot in terms of bringing development to the people. There is a strong synergy among all the chairmen in Lagos State as we always have a regular meeting, where we review the different happenings across the state. Also, we look into sectorial challenges facing the localities in order to find a lasting solution. Most times there are specific directives with regard to areas that are begging for attention and we look into them. For example, after the “Detty December”, we observed that there was much refuse in all the localities and we had to come together to discuss the issue in order to keep the State clean. Also, when the security situation in the country escalated, we had to come together at the grassroots and we provided the necessary intelligence to the security architecture of the state, through the office of The Governor of Lagos State. Again, every chairman has his own local security strategy. In Ibeju-Lekki for instance, we deployed hunters to our schools. The conference of the chairmen is meant to ensure that the entire state on the overall, feels the impact of local government administration, it serves as a vehicle through which issues can be escalated to top tiers of government. Also, when there is a directive from the top, through that same vehicle, we would be able to disseminate it to all corners of our localities.
Khal-El: With the conclusion of the E-Registration, do you think it would help give APC an edge for a resounding victory at the polls come 2027?
Chairman: APC will surely come out victorious because The APC Government is working assiduously across all levels of government, whether local, state or federal. Everyone can see what is happening at the federal level, everyone can also see what Mr. Governor-Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu is doing in Lagos State and at the local government level, I can tell you categorically that each council chairman is doing well. Every local government today is investing in infrastructure. All the council chairmen are intervening in all facets of life.
Many vulnerable people in the society, now receive palliatives from the local governments who are the closest to the people. For instance, recently I have treated several cases of financial assistance that bordered on: “ my child just gained admission and I have no where to run to “, building of healthcare centers, schools etc. Right now, students are writing JAMB and every local government is providing a free access to that. A lot of people may not understand the importance of this gesture however, the families that have benefited from it will always appreciate it because the help they received, came at the nick of time. Now tell me, if APC government is doing all of this, is there any way people will not come out to vote for us? There is no way APC will not have a resounding victory at the polls at the 2027 general elections. It is pertinent to note that APC is a progressives party guided by its manifestos. Some of the party manifestos say that we must provide services, we must provide security, we must give people access to basic education, we must give them access to quality healthcare. Without gainsaying it, these are some of the things we do in APC. This is the more reason people would vote for the party. Find out the last count of governors that have crossed over to APC recently-almost thirty (30) governors are now in APC! Is it by accident? No! It is as a result of the good policy of the APC government at the central. For example, With the policy of Mr. President, more revenues have accrued to the federation account and the three tiers of government are benefiting from it. Nigeria has cut down on a lot of wastages because, the country is growing in her external reserves. More so, the Naira is gaining against the Dollar as a result of the economic stability being witnessed in the country now. So, I am more than confident that the APC will win at the polls across the country both at the state and federal levels in 2027 general elections.
Khal-El: Still on the E-Registration, how commendable was the exercise?
Chairman: Very commendable! We are living in a technology driven world. Any party that is not thinking digital is not ready to solve the challenges of the future. Now tell me, how many parties in Nigeria has embarked on an electronic membership registration? Only APC! So, what The APC is saying is, “that we want to know who our members are, if you know you are a member of APC, we want to have your records”. This will only help us to know who our members are! Besides, we are not just having records that are not verifiable nor database that cannot be substantiated! Hence- with the e-registration, APC has again led by example, showing that it thinks about the future and ready to move forward with time. More so, the present generation is digitally inclined, if the party is not moving in that direction; how do we encourage the younger generation to be part of what we are doing? Therefore, I want to commend members and the leadership of the party, for coming out in their droves to show their love and loyalty.
Khal-El: What do you have in the offing for residents in 2026?
Chairman: Oh yes! A lot of infrastructural development. We are running on a pillar called “SHIELD”, which means security, health, infrastructure, education and environment, local economy, digital governance and civic participation. Everything that we do is hinged on this pillar. But we will be more focused and more intentional in the area of security because, as more and more people are coming into the locality, there will be population explosion which may also bring a lot of security threats in its wake. To this effect, we must continue to strengthen our capacity to meet up with those expectations. So, we are going to invest in security infrastructure, recruiting more security personnel, train and give them the right tools to work with. When it comes to infrastructural development, the local government is the fastest in the state. We would also work on Primary Healthcare, roads, schools, drainages and environmental infrastructure.
Health is key for us in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government. We have about fourteen (14) PHC. Recently, I had a meeting with some companies who have agreed to provide a renewable energy for all our PHCs because, we want to place them all on solar energy. This will help erase the likely occurrence of power outage. We will also do more in education, in terms of improving the ambiance of our schools. We have over twenty-seven (27) schools in this Local Government and right now, we are providing security for all the schools by erecting perimeter fences because, it is very important. It is not just enough to have beautiful schools, if they are not secure; they will be vandalized. We are also renovating and upgrading their standards. We will also be introducing “The Ibeju-Lekki Modern Primary Schools”. The architectural design will be more than sophisticated, creating a conducive environment such that, the pupils will have the opportunity to learn in an interactive way.
Under environment, refuse management is key. This is as a result of the fact that population growth brings about increase in waste generation. So the local government must be ready through the provision of equipment for refuse collection, for onward transportation to designated locations. We will also look into how to convert waste to wealth. We can create a business plan where private investors can become part of the waste eco-system.
Under “Local Economy”, all that I have mentioned earlier revolve around our local economy vis-a-vis: tourism, environment, trading etc. We intend to establish a cooperative society to this effect. At the moment, we have started making a conditional cash transfer to residents. Through it, we give out one hundred thousand naira (N100,000.00) cash to about two hundred to two hundred and fifty (200-250) beneficiaries, which amounts close to twenty-five million naira (N25M) monthly. Besides, we have done this now for the past three months and another phase is coming up very soon.
Again, it is important to note that this funds are not given by hand, they are credited directly into the beneficiaries’ bank accounts. Most importantly, our targets are those in active trade such that, through the setting up of a cooperative society, the funds will be channeled to them. By so doing, they will have the opportunity to pay back as well as give other people the opportunity to benefit from it.
Under “Digital Governance “, basically everything that we do revolves around technology. For instance, our IGR is fully digitalized, it is an end-to-end system. In Ibeju-Lekki today, if any business owner decides to set up his business in the locality and needs a business premises permit, the moment his data is being captured, he will be given his demand notice immediately. You can pay your bills and get your receipts instantly. Indeed, we have made this possible in order to improve the ease of doing business as well as eliminate the possibility of pilfering.
These are some of the strategies we have used, to make life better for the people in this locality.
