Making Lagos a Smart City not a rhetoric ― Sanwo-Olu

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said that plan to elevate state to become a smart city is not mere political rhetoric, but an agenda that is being supported by policies that will make the goal achievable.

The governor said this on Wednesday while speaking at the 13th Annual Business Law Conference organized by Business Law section of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island.

According to him, his administration’s commitment to reinvigorate the state’s economy and make it a smart city was reinforced by its growth potential and profile as one of the top investment destinations in Africa.

Sanwo-Olu, while reiterating that the Smart City agenda was on course, stressed that his administration would achieve the goal in partnership with the private sector as a key driver of development.

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The governor said his government had already identified key areas to drive growth, stating that investment in infrastructure remained prominent.

“As Africa’s most populous city, with a population larger than several countries on the continent, but confined to a space that is less than 4,000 square miles in size, Lagos is confronted by problems that exert great pressure on its infrastructure, especially our transport infrastructure and public utilities.

“Lagos urgently needs to mobilize huge investments into these critical sectors by delivering new roads and bridges, expanding air and sea ports’ capacity, exploiting the potential of our vast waterways. And, very importantly, Lagos needs to deliver an intra-city rail network. We must have a city-wide rail system that will move people and goods faster,” the governor said.

The governor, while noting that steady electricity remained critical to delivering a Smart City with a flourishing economy, observed that Lagos, like other states, still had a huge gap to fill in the area of power supply to businesses and homes.

He said sustained but strategic investment in key infrastructure would have direct positive impacts on workers’ productivity, commerce, and economy.

“Provision of infrastructure creates jobs for artisans, engineers and other workers who will deliver these projects, and also for the contractors who supply raw materials. And by expanding our transport and power supply capacities significantly, we will succeed in unleashing the economic productivity long-constrained by these bottlenecks,” Sanwo-Olu said.

According to him, the effort requires private sector partnership and investment to deliver on the objectives, urging local and international investors to leverage the government’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) policy in facilitating collaboration, which, he promised, would be mutually beneficial.

While re-assuring investors that his government would create “friendly atmosphere” for investment to thrive, the governor said the state had embarked on reforms in its business law to protect the interests of all parties when disputes arise in business.

“By leading the way with these reforms, we are making the point that we understand the place of Lagos in the national economy, and we understand the connection between the confidence in legal and regulatory systems on the one hand, and, on the other hand, a willingness by investors to invest.

“In terms of the business regulatory environment, we are fully aligned with the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business Reform Agenda. I am pleased to note here that Lagos was in 2018 adjudged by the World Bank as one of the most improved states in terms of the Ease of Doing Business,” the governor said.

Sanwo-Olu praised members of the NBA’s Business Law section for choosing Lagos as its choice location to discuss the objectives of the business conference.