The governor, Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has promised to continue to improves its social amenities and security to provide good working and living conditions for about 40 million Lagosians.
Sanwo-Olu, while speaking at the Private-Public Partnership pre-Ehingbeti stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos, said the population of the state is expected to hit 40 million by 2050, hence, has made provision for this population projection in its 30-year development plan.
The development plan, he said, would be unveiled at the upcoming Ehingbeti Summit scheduled to hold between 11th and 12th of October, 2022.
Speaking through his deputy, Mr. Kadri Hamzat at the event, he agreed that the State cannot stop influx of people into it in droves, hence, the need to develop a plan to provide for the increasing future population.
The forum, he stressed, was organised to sensitise key stakeholders on this year’s summit while also seeking inputs of stakeholders in the proposed 30-year Lagos development plan.
Saying the essence of the Summit is to provide opportunities for private sector, individuals, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Lagosians to be part of the developmental process of the State, he added that, Ehingbeti Summit is a private-sector driven that has achieved its purpose to a very large extent courtesy of the meticulous and effective implementation of various ideas and suggestions that have emanated from the robust discussions and brainstorming sessions led by highly knowledgeable and experienced personalities from Nigeria and overseas.
“Most of the key infrastructure that has transformed Lagos and pioneering ideas were actually things that came out of previous Summits and it speaks to the quality of the Summit, the people that are involved and how Lagosians actually perceives this Summit,” he stated.
Also speaking, the chairman, Lagos Economic Summit Group, Samuel Egube, said the ninth Summit is themed: “Charting The Paths To Sustainable Socio-Economic Growth” and borne out of a strong desire by the Lagos State government to accelerate economic growth and development in Lagos.
He said, the summit, which started in 2000, has been convening and putting together both local and foreign participants, stakeholders on the public and private sectors, who indeed have interest in Lagos.
On his part, the the senior principal, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Mr. Olayinka Majekodunmi, said the Lagos development plan would help accomplish the vision of the State.
Introducing the plan to the audience, he said, four strategic dimensions have been prioritised and defined in the Lagos State development plan.
“The first is to ensure that Lagos has a thriving economy with adequate jobs and strategic investments to sustain the growth of Lagos. The second dimension of the plan is that Lagos would be a human centric city where Lagosian would have access to affordable and world class education, health care and social services.
“The third dimension which is model infrastructure, is that Lagos will have reliable and sufficient infrastructure that meets of a 21st century city while the fourth dimension which is really foundational is effective governnace ensuring that Lagos would have a supportive and enabling environment that creates opportunities for all Lagosians,” he said.
