Lagos State governor, Mr Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, on Sunday assured members of the business community in the state of the commitment of his administration to improving the business environment towards making it more attractive to investment.
The governor gave the assurance while speaking at the Lagos State Day and closing of the 2021 Lagos International Trade Fair, saying his administration would continue to place a high priority on key infrastructure that would make the state safe, secure, functional and productive.
Sanwo-Olu, who spoke through his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, argued that doing so would serve as an impetus towards achieving sustainable economic growth through highly-motivated and vibrant private-sector participation.
This was as the governor stated that his administration, since inception, has left no one in doubt in its intention to accord the private sector a pride of place in its vision and plan to build a 21st century economy.
According to him, his administration has in the past two years, taken practical steps to translate its intention into concrete actions through various infrastructural projects and business-friendly policies which it has continued to implement with the overriding objective of making the environment more conducive for investment to thrive.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed that while some of these ground-breaking projects had been completed and commissioned, some others were progressing at an appreciable rate towards completion between next year and the first quarter of 2023, saying that the projects, which had great multiplier effects on business growth, are the Lekki deep seaport project and the Blue Line rail project, among others.
The governor stressed further that his administration had also not relented in its efforts in the areas of ensuring improved power supply and enhanced internet connectivity which is a major component of the smart city project but had also invested massively in stepping up the capacity of security architecture which had ensured that the state remained one of the safest states in the country.
The State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives, Dr. (Mrs.) Lola Akande, in her welcome address, stated that the Sanwo-Olu administration had been taking giant strides in the creation of enabling environment for entrepreneurship development and business prosperity.
According to her, the administration has achieved this by focusing on the development of physical infrastructure and other business support processes to enhance the economic competitiveness and productivity of small enterprises in the state.
She equally assured that the state government shall not rest on its oars until business prosperity was guaranteed, saying the government was keenly aware that the achievement of becoming Africa’s model megacity by 2025, is hinged on continuous improvement of the business climate to stimulate private sector investments, create jobs and increase productivity in the State.
Akande noted that the participation of Lagos in the annual Trade Fair afforded it the opportunity to accommodate a number of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the State Pavilion to relieve them of the burden of the cost of participation, thereby affording them the opportunity of showcasing their products and services to the public, including the international community.
The commissioner said it was one of the many ways in which the state government had been promoting and providing a networking platform for MSMEs to stimulate demand for their products and services and ultimately facilitate the enhancement of their productivity.
President of the Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Mrs Toki Mabogunje, while appreciating and commending the resilient and optimism of participants at the fair, opined that governments at all levels in Nigeria would continue to address the issue of enabling environment, especially as regards infrastructure, insecurity and the right kind of policies that enabled trade.
She argued that these were needed in order to fully harness the huge enterprising resources of domestic and foreign investors to the diversification of the economy and welfare of the citizens of the country.
Speaking further, Mabogunje applauded the disposition and commitment of Governor Sanwo-Olu to the promotion of post collaboration between the Lagos State government and the Organized Private Sector (OPS) in the state, even as she also appreciated the governor’s all-inclusive approach to governance.
She further thanked the state government for its continued support for the Lagos International Trade Fairs especially towards the successful hosting of the 2021 Edition.
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