A 30-year development plan will be unveiled by the Lagos State Government for the Lagos population expected to hit 40 million by 2050 at this year’s Ehingbeti Summit.
Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu disclosed this at a Private-Public Partnership pre-Ehingbeti stakeholders’ engagement in Lagos on Tuesday.
Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Deputy Governor, Lagos, Mr Obafemi Hamzat, said the summit scheduled to hold from Oct. 11-12, would cater for the increasing population of the state.
The governor, noting that the state could not stop the influx of people, said the development heralded the need to develop a plan to provide for the increasing future population.
He stated that the forum was organised to sensitise key stakeholders on the summit, and to seek the inputs of stakeholders in the proposed 30-year Lagos development plan.
Sanwo-Olu said the essence of the summit was to provide opportunities for the private sector, individuals, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and Lagosians to be part of the developmental process of the state.
“The summit, which is private-sector driven, has achieved its purpose to a very large extent courtesy of the meticulous and effective implementation of various ideas and suggestions.
“These, 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 have transformed Lagos and pioneering ideas were actually came out of previous summits and it speaks to the quality of the summit, the people that are involved and how Lagosians actually perceive the summit,” he stated.
The governor gave the assurance of his administration’s commitment to taking lessons from the summit through the implementation of its resolutions.
Chairman, Lagos Economic Summit Group, Mr Samuel Egube, said the ninth edition with the theme: “Charting the paths to sustainable socio-economic growth,” was borne out of a strong desire by the state government to accelerate economic growth and development of Lagos.
He said the summit, which started in 2000, had been convening and putting together both local and foreign participants, stakeholders from the public and private sectors, with the interest of the state at heart.
Egube added that the summit had also brought together men and women from the academia, multilateral and other development institutions to add value to Lagos.
“It is the belief of those of us in Lagos that Lagos prospers as a result of the commitment Lagosians show to participate in governnace while also committing their efforts to the future of Lagos.
“The Lagos State government will continue to protect trade, business activities; the future of Lagos relies on economic activities.
“Ehingbeti is proof that we will continue to pursue transparency and accountability to governance,” he said.
According to him, the summit is one of the platforms that demonstrate the commitment of the state government to listening to the people of Lagos in the various sectors of the economy and also a platform to account for what it has implemented.
The Senior Principal, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Mr Olayinka Majekodunmi, said the Lagos development plan would help accomplish the vision of the state to drive inclusive growth and accelerated stability.
Majekodunmi said four strategic dimensions across 20 areas had been prioritised and defined in the Lagos State development plan.
He said the first was to ensure that Lagos had a thriving economy with adequate jobs and strategic investments to sustain the growth of the state.
The second dimension, he stated, was for Lagos to be a human centric city where Lagosians 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 is up to the standard of a 21st century city.
“The fourth dimension, which is really foundational, is effective governnace to ensure that Lagos would have a supportive and enabling environment that creates opportunities for all Lagosians,” he said.
