Good news for Badagry residents and performing art lovers in Badagry division of Lagos as the State Government disclosed that the newly constructed Lagos Theatre in Badagry will open to the public in December for use during the yuletide season.
The disclosure was made on Monday by the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Tayo Ayinde, during an inspection tour of state projects in Badagry. He was in company with top government officials including Mr. Solomon Bonu, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Arts and Culture, who is an indigene of Badagry.
The 400-seater Badagry theatre was constructed by the immediate-past administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to breathe life into the creative and tourism landscape of Badagry.
The theatre is one if the four constructed and commissioned by Ambode under the Lagos Ibile Theatre Project. The others are in Oregun, Igando and Epe. None has been put into use since the new government took over administration in Lagos State more than five months ago.
But Mr. Ayinde’s disclosure was silent on whether the facility would be run directly by government or through technical partners. He also did not indicate if the December opening date will extend to the three other theatres.
President Muhammadu Buhari personally commissioned the Opebi theatre on April 24, while former governor Ambode commissioned the Igando and Epe theatres in May; all designed as multi-functional art facility with capacity to stage theatre and musical productions; art exhibitions and conferences with food court and rehearsal areas.
However, Ayinde said the aim of his inspection tour of the area was to “assess the status of the various projects by the state government in Badagry” being a region noted for tourism and cultural promotions.
“The inspection exercise will give us first-hand information about those projects in order to properly brief the governor on what needs to be done,” he stated.
The inspection team first visited the former Lagos State VIP Challets which the Ambode administration planned to turn to a 5-star hospitality facility.
The team also visited the Badagry Marina and jetty, Oba Akran’s palace and the General Hospital among others.
