Lagos State Governor,
Mr Akinwunmi Ambode recently called on the World Bank to seriously consider
partnership with the State Government in funding key projects in transport,
energy and water sectors, saying such collaboration would positively impact the
economy of not just the State but the country at large.
Speaking at
Lagos House in Alausa, Ikeja during a courtesy visit by Executive Directors of
the Bank led by Mr Patrizio Pagano, Governor Ambode said though the State
Government in the last three years had hugely invested in provision of
infrastructure across all sectors and sections, but collaboration from the
Bretton Wood institution in key sectors in the State would go a long way in
boosting the economy and making life comfortable for the people.
He said
available statistics from the United Nations confirmed the fact that an average
of 86 people enter into Lagos every one hour which is the highest in the world,
while the population of the State was now around 24million, with attendant
impact on infrastructure and other social amenities, adding that the complexity
of the State makes the need for support in funding key projects more compelling.
“The
significance of Lagos to the overall economy of Nigeria itself is not what we
want to toy with and so when I read in the brief that the delegation would be
coming to Lagos, I thought it was a very good decision that you would be able
to see some of the sectors and some of the impact we have made.
“So, if the
World Bank were to generally support the development of the Nigerian economy,
beyond the fact that you would be having anything to do with the Federal
Government, I think that the greater part of what you should concentrate on
should be issues that relate to major sectors that have to do with Lagos
because anything that is driven by Lagos more or less has an overall positive
impact on the Nigerian economy,” Governor Ambode said.
Already,
Governor Ambode said his administration had commenced the process of
implementing major reforms in the transport sector with major bus terminals and
laybys springing up in key areas across the State, adding however that major
support was also needed in areas of integrated transport system involving road,
rail and water transportation.
While alluding to the
traffic congestion raised on the Airport Road by the leader of the delegation,
the Governor said the development was a signpost of the fact that there was
urgent need to invest massively in other modes of transportation.
“Unfortunately,
with the huge population of Lagos, we just have some effective operation of one
mode of transportation which is road. So, technically, when you are having a
whole lot of people coming into the State and you are having so much expansion
around the West Coast, it is important that we review the integration of our
public transport management system in a manner that we can actually stand to
say that we are planning ahead of the kind of urbanization challenges that we
are having in our hands as well as some sense of implosion in terms of
population coming from other parts of the country into Lagos.
“So,
technically there are major reforms going on in the public transport system and
because the roads and the infrastructure are the things that are visible right
now, it is important that we seek greater support to be able to create new
terminals, create new laybys, new bus stops and actually even purchase new
buses because when you look at the bus system in the city, it cannot actually
meet the demand of a globally competitive city that we are trying to make Lagos
to become.
“In that
regard, I just think that the transport sector is one area that we really need
to look at and if we are able to make a good example and a good success of what
Lagos should really be in terms of integrated transport system, we would have
helped Nigeria to create an example and we would have also been able to
replicate it in other parts of the country,” the Governor said.
He said Lagos,
being a sub-national was also having challenges in providing energy to
adequately power the State, as well as in the area of providing portable water
to the huge population due to competing pressure on resources, adding that
support to augment efforts being made by the State Government would equally be
helpful.
Besides,
Governor Ambode thanked the World Bank for the various budget support
initiatives in transport, agric and water sectors, saying the support had crystallized
not only in development and growth of the State, but also resulted in stronger
ties with the institution.
Responding to a
question on how Lagos contributed to Nigeria’s economic recovery and growth
plan, the Governor said his administration decided to reflate the economy by
investing massively in key sectors which in turn touched even the lower fabric
of the economy, saying the development changed the tied of the negative outlook
of the country’s financial numbers, and eventually stabilized the economy.
“The last three
years have been tremendously progressive for Lagos. We have done so much in
terms of infrastructure to make sure that the city stabilizes. We are very
strong in the area of security and right now, Lagos appears to be the safest
city in Africa and security wise we have been able to put the city back on
track and it has stabilized a whole lot of investment here.
“We believe
also that if we continue in that path, some years to come we would become the
third largest economy in Africa,” the Governor said.
Earlier, Pagano
said the delegation, which consists of 10 World Bank Executive Directors
representing 96 countries, was in Nigeria to study the challenges and
expectations of the partners in West Africa from the bank, saying the team was
delighted to learn the challenges faced by Lagos, which he described as
Nigeria’s most dynamic State.
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