•Activities at Okobaba sawmill before COVID-19.
The Lagos State Government, as part of its promise to relocate Oko-Baba sawmill operators to Timberville, has commenced verification exercise for stakeholders and prospective beneficiaries of the purpose-built facility.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Lagos State Office for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr Mukaila Sanusi.
Speaking during the inauguration of the verification exercise, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako, stated that the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu was working to relocate the millers to the new facility.
Salako noted that the verification exercise was to update the list of stakeholders and ascertain their levels of readiness for the planned relocation.
He added that to facilitate the relocation, the government had set up the requisite basic amenities and the enabling working environment with functional accessibility to the new location as well as adequate power supply and security in and around the Timberville operational area.
He noted that the Lagos State Government had decided to relocate the saw millers to protect the environment and consequently create a more productive environment for the business activity.
He said, “It is incontrovertible that we have since come to terms with the fact that the present location of your sawmill in the waterfront of Ebute-Metta, popularly called Okobaba is no longer sustainable for the business, given the huge environmental cost which is unimaginable and unpardonable at this time and age.”
He listed some of the environmental impacts to include water and air pollution, carbon emission, destruction of aquatic resources and creation of blight among others.
The commissioner also stated that the goal of the state government was to leverage the status of Oko-Baba Sawmill as the largest in the country and ultimately turn the Timberville, Agbowa to a major agriculture processing zone and a hub of value addition for timber and construction industry within the Ikorodu-Epe sub-region of the state, while leveraging public private collaboration.
Explaining the strategic plan for the relocation, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Abiola Kosegbe, noted that the government had devised a phased implementation plan for the movement of Okobaba Operation to Timberville, part of which was the introduction of the strategic documentation of the saw millers.
She added that the documentation was aimed at achieving seamless movement from Okobaba to Timberville through a model that would provide an opportunity for the larger movers saw millers to be selected in the first instance for immediate allocation of space, including band saw sheds, sales offices and ancillary sheds for displaying of finished wood products.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Urban Development, Ganiyu Ayuba, Olajide Babatunde, urged the saw millers to cooperate with the government throughout the phases of the relocation, particularly the ongoing verification exercise.
Ayuba is also the Special Adviser to the Governor on E-GIS and Physical Planning.
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