Members and staff of the Lagos State Ferry Services, LAGFERRY, have been reminded of the critical role they play in the THEME agenda of Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu ‘s administration.
This announcement was made by the Permanent Secretary for the Lagos State public service office, PSO, Mrs OlaSunkanmi Oyegbola, at THE 2025 annual retreat organised by the Agency for its staff. Mrs Oyegbola admonished the staff to improve themselves by making good use of the internet where they can do free online courses; instead of using the social media to gossip and waste time .
She added that as an agency, it’s important to always get feedback from the public in order to improve on their performances. She said there are three basic factors she has come to acknowledge that helps individuals to grow in their career, Knowledge, Skills and Attitude, (KSA).
According to her, it’s important to have knowledge of the job you are doing and the skills in executing and getting the best. Oyegbola added that being good in your work without having a good attitude is dangerous for a public servant. A good attitude is essential for a public servant especially with the nature of the work of LAGFERRY staff.
The permanent secretary also noted that for one to help in achieving the vision of his organisation, he must be intentional about his purpose.
“We are the oil that lubricates the engine. The pillars of the government are the engine but we lubricate that pillar. We are here at a retreat. A retreat is a time to take stock. We ask ourselves, how can we do it better and what can we do to make it better.
“We already talked about what to do to make it better. The purpose of our being here has been established. As a person, what do you want to contribute to this purpose?
“I want you to be intentional about what you want to do for coming here because without that you cannot achieve anything, how you want to get there and how you can make it better”, the permanent secretary said.
She however chided some of the staff for not joining the retreat in time despite the fact that they were lodged within the venue. The permanent secretary rewarded one Oladunnni Adeyemi for being the first to enter the retreat hall. He was given a cash gift of ₦30,000 by the permanent secretary with an additional ₦50,000 from Hon Balogun
In his opening speech, the Managing Director of LAGFERRY, Abdulbaqi Oladimeji Balogun noted that when Gov. Sanwo-Olu came on board, LAGFERRY had only five operational boats and plied in four routes. Today, the agency has 19 terminals and almost 23 routes.
He commended three journalists: Ajasa Abdul Rahman, Abdul Waheed Usama, Jubril Zawat for using the social media to boast the image of the agency through the social media, when they only had five boats,Balogun narrated how the three men will take the picture of the boats on sail at Apongbo bridge, and Ebutte Ero bridge and project it on the social media.
“From five boats and four terminals, today, we have 19 terminals and almost 23 routes. All thanks to the Governor. We had a special adviser on taxation and revenue last year because we had declining revenue. We were like what’s going to happen if we consistently deliver in terms of taking passengers from one place to another, but we are not getting to the bottom line which is the money that’s supposed to go to the revenue purse of the government.
“What are we doing wrong? We started very well in 2020, 2021,2022, we did over 100 percent of our revenue target. So what could have happened that will make our revenue drop so low. We are coming to 56 percent in 2023, last year we did 28 percent and it was so poor and we were so worried and what do we do? To whom much is given, much is expected because whenever we take our request to the Governor or his Deputy or Commissioner for Economic Planning, they listen to us and give us approval.
“We are grateful because the Special Adviser intervened and took it beyond this class. We had a private meeting, also where we assembled a team to meet him in his office and we were able to come up with a lot of solutions. Today, we have seen a steady rise in the revenue drive of the Lagos State Ferry Services. We are here to take home some important facts which will impact in our daily lives and operations.
“We also believe that this particular section will take us further considering that we have a lot of potential in water transportation,” the MD explained.
Balogun noted that there’s need to leverage on the great potential of water transportation as LAGFERRY has the largest number of commercial fleet in the West African coast.
He speaks further, “So what can we do to leverage on this advantage to increase the revenue drive for the state and also make LAGFERRY a vehicle for sustainability transportation in Lagos State beyond what we are operating now.
” In February 16, 2020, we had seven boats which were produced locally and it increased to 12 when the Governor commissioned those boats at Badore, Ajah and Etiosa local government area respectively. He promised that if the ferry are effectively run, he will double it in the next one year. In July 2021, at Five Cowrie Ikoyi, he added seven more boats to the fleet of LAGFERRY. He made us to achieve atleast 22 boats.
” No state or national government within the West African coast can boast of 20 boats within their fleet. Gov. Sanwo-Olu ensured there’s connectivity among the three mode of transportation in the state. There’s a geometric progression of our population from 15 million to 24 million and it will increase to 50 million by 2030. There’s no way we can rely on a single mode of transportation no matter the number of road networks we have to construct because the traffic will still be there”.
The LAGFERRY boss noted that Gov. Sanwo-Olu was part of the people that put the Strategic Transportation Blue Print Master Plan which led to the creation of LAMATA, LAGFERRY, and LASWA, so, he knows the depth of transportation challenges in the state.
He knows what to be done that’s why he is investing so much in water transportation and rail transportation. All these bus corridors were specifically planned to put the blueprint together by the administration of then Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“We have been able to seamless connect between the railway and water way. If you see the master piece of the rail station in Marina and Mile 2, those are the places we have the three mode of transportation connecting together.
“We have the water transportation in Mile 2, rail transportation in Mile 2 and road transportation, the same thing with CMS/Marina. That’s why there’s a lot of construction going on, to have this interchange. Do you know you can take a boat from Mile 2 and it will take you to Muritala Muhammed International Airport, you have a water way route that gets to that place”, he revealed.
Prince Lanre Sanusi,Chairman Amuwo Odofin and Oriade LCDA Chairman are both participating in the retreat as stakeholder local governments whose inputs are crucial in advancing sustainable transportation options for Lagos State because they host seven functional jetties and terminals, LAGFERRY Managing Director explained .
In his goodwill message, Prince Lanre Sanusi said that LAGFERRY has seen so much improvements since Hon Ladi became the MD and that he’s had very good experience with the organization, while Hon Abdulrasaq Olojede affirming that LAGFERRY has done well under the leadership of Hon Ladi, he promised any kind of partnership that will improve the organization further.
Dr Mustapha Balogun of the Department of Marketing ,Lagos State University a keynote speaker said that understanding of the different segments of the market is very crucial for LAGFERRY in delivering quality service that meets its unique needs, and Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwoolu on Parastatals Monitoring, PMO,Hon Ibrahim Babajide Obanikoro applauded the organization’s achievements over the years.
