Sanwo-Olu seeks collaboration between states, federal agencies

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has called for a stronger collaboration between the states and the Federal Government to enable the states to leverage their comparative advantages.

Governor made the call through the Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, while receiving the Participants of the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 47, 2025 of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, at the Conference Room, Lagos House, Ikeja.

According to the governor, effective collaboration between states and Federal Government agencies in the states across the country will go a long way in proffering solutions to issues and challenges that may be affecting harmonious relationships between them.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, while making the call, noted that in most nations, like Germany and Netherlands, infrastructure such as the roads, and everything laying within a 20-kilometer radius is taken care of by the port, “but that’s not the case here,” urging participants to include in their reports issues affecting states and federal agencies, and how to find a lasting solution to frictions among them.

“Most nations, like Germany, Netherlands, a 20-kilometer radius around their ports, is taken care of. It is the port that takes care of the infrastructure, the roads, and everything, but that’s not the case here.

“So, as you write those reports, I think it’s important to also bring those issues out. Also, they cannot be creating liabilities for states to take on, it’s just not fair. A Federal agency cannot approve for people to sandfill our water, it’s not fair,” the governor said.

Sanwo-Olu said these were parts of the issues that both governments must deal with, so that the states can leverage their comparative advantages, just as enjoined the Institute to also visit some of those Federal agencies to ensure they hear their side, and then do their report as appropriately as they see it.

“I think it’s very important for our country, so that we can design template structures that help the various institutions and various states,” Sanwo-Olu said.

Besides, the governor further noted that the Lagos State is the only sub-sovereign in the world, that had solely funded rail on its balance sheet, citing that other sub-sovereigns such as London, New York, shared its ratio with the Federal Government.

“But in the case of Lagos, the state government has solely funded the rail because of the number of people that live in those areas,” he said.

Earlier in his remarks, the Director-General of NIPSS and Leader of the Delegation, Prof. Ayo Omotayo, stated that Participants of the Senior Executive Course (SEC) 47, 2025 of the Institute were in the state on a study tour owing to the significance of Lagos to this year’s theme of the Senior Executive Course.

Omotayo noted that as Nigeria’s foremost think-tank, the Institute do receive the mandate of Mr. President at the beginning of every Executive Course in which he chooses a theme of study that he thinks is important and germane to the focus of his government.

The NIPSS boss added that for this year, President Tinubu had chosen the theme: “Blue Economy and Sustainable Development in Nigeria: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities,” pointing out that the place of Lagos in the Blue Economy was very germane as they would be called a failure if they failed to come to Lagos.

“Deputy Governor Sir, for the theme we are investigating this year, Mr. President will call us failures if we fail to come to Lagos because Lagos is the biggest in terms of the Blue Economy. We came here last year too, because the theme also had to do with Lagos,” Prof. Omotayo said.

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