Agege: Obasa Woos Strategic Partners, Says Era of Violence Is Over, Receives Silverbird Group Delegation
The Agege Local Government has expressed its readiness to embrace strategic partnerships aimed at improving residents’ quality of life and boosting socio-economic activities in the area.
The council also declared that the era when Agege was associated with violence and civil disobedience was over, attributing the change to inclusive governance and the implementation of people-oriented programmes.
The Executive Chairman of Agege Local Government, Hon. Abdul-Ganiyu Vinod Obasa, made these declarations while receiving a delegation from the Silverbird Group in his office at the council secretariat.
The delegation, led by the group’s Chief Creative Officer, Mr. Jacob Akinyemi Johnson, visited to formally invite the chairman to the 20th anniversary of the Silverbird Man of the Year Award, scheduled to hold at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, in November.
Obasa disclosed that since his inauguration in December 2025, his administration had completed 20 roads, inaugurated 17 blocks of modern classrooms and recruited 50 additional teachers.
He added that the school infrastructure included football pitches and well-equipped libraries, noting that a solid educational foundation would enable students to excel academically and in extracurricular activities.
The council chairman further revealed that streetlights had been installed across the area to enhance security, while 40 CCTV cameras had been mounted at strategic locations, with a central control room established for effective surveillance.
On youth development, Obasa said the council’s empowerment and skills acquisition centres had trained hundreds of young people in various vocational fields, including information and communication technology (ICT), fashion design and photography.
Addressing environmental management, he disclosed that the council had acquired new compactors to facilitate refuse evacuation from major roads and inner streets. He also revealed that the council had generated ₦8 million in fines from environmental law violators.
In the area of economic empowerment, Obasa said the council had provided ₦100 million in single-digit interest loans to small-scale business owners to support their businesses and stimulate economic growth in Agege.
On healthcare delivery, he said his administration had upgraded existing primary healthcare centres and embarked on the construction of new ones, alongside a general hospital, to reduce residents’ dependence on the Orile-Agege General Hospital for medical services.
The council chairman said his vision was to make positive news a constant feature of Agege, highlighting the area’s strategic location less than 10 minutes from the international airport and a railway station offering passenger services to Ibadan.
Earlier, Johnson disclosed that preparations were in top gear for the 20th anniversary of the Silverbird Man of the Year Award.
He recalled that the inaugural edition of the award was won by the late former Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Dora Akunyili, in recognition of her determination and relentless campaign against counterfeit and substandard products in Nigeria.
Other past recipients of the award include Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and Mr. Mike Adenuga.
Johnson explained that the organisers subsequently introduced additional award categories, including posthumous and lifetime achievement awards, to recognise outstanding contributions across the country’s regions.
He noted that recipients of the other award categories were selected through nominations, while the Man of the Year award followed a different selection process.
President Bola Tinubu and former President of the African Development Bank, Mr. Akinwumi Adesina, were among the past recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Silverbird delegation leader also disclosed that the organisers had introduced the Local Government Chairman of the Year Award to recognise and showcase exemplary leadership and its impact on grassroots development.
Other members of the delegation included the Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Bola Salako; Head of News, Mr. Mustapha Issah; and a member of the organising committee, Mr. Taiwo Olapade.
