Sanwo-Olu Woos Investors At African Business Forum in Morocco

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has told investors that the state has cleaned up its regulatory environment and removed all bureaucratic bottlenecks affecting the business environment in the state.

The governor, who said Lagos now has a one-stop shop for investors interested in investing, noted that the state is open to investment in new areas of transport infrastructure.

While explaining that the state has made significant investment in rail lines, Sanwo-Olu said Lagos needed more investments in rail infrastructure, airport projects and waterways transportation, among other areas.

According to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Gboyega Akosile, he spoke on Thursday at the on-going Africa Investment Forum (AIF) in Marrakech, Morocco, with the theme: “Leveraging Cities and Municipalities for National Development.”

Speaking on a panel session, Sanwo-Olu said the state had continuously reviewed its Ease of Doing Business framework to tap into private equities in advancing socio-economic development through Public Private Partnership (PPP).

He said: “Lagos does not just want to be an elephant; we want to be a giant that will be efficient and which people can rely on. We are building a city that is predictable, liveable, resilient and has all trappings of a working mega city. It is our responsibility to make Lagos the best among equals. We have cleaned up our regulatory environment and opened our doors to assure investors that all the red tapes have been removed. We have a one-stop shop in which investors can come in and navigate our business environment.

“Once the regulatory environment is clear and the instrument of dispute resolution is independent, what remains is for the investment to come. We welcome investment in new areas of transport infrastructure, on the rail lines we are building to commute millions on a daily basis. The numbers are real and it will speak to returns on investment. We also welcome investment on the waterways, where we have delivered a lot of backbone infrastructure.”

On the six-pillar THEMES economic agenda of his administration, Sanwo-Olu said it has changed the development trajectory of the state, adding that Lagos could now boast of an integrated mass transportation system.

He said: “In the last five years, the progress we have seen in Lagos is reflecting in the changing skyline of the State today. We have changed the development trajectory of Lagos; we have been able to complete an intra city rail infrastructure. This has raised the State’s capability by ensuring our citizens move effectively in a more predictable time. We designed a six-pillar economic agenda that enable us prioritise Transportation and Traffic Management and face the challenges head-on. We have been able to achieve a lot in this regard, with Lagos having an integrated mass transportation system, which uses waterways, rail and bus rapid system.

“We engaged our energetic young people to develop a unified payment system called Cowry Card to be used across our mass transportation means. This is making the city a lot more functional, liveable and resilient. Economic sustainability is critical indicator to measure progress of a city, so that people can know that they are in a city where resources need to be used effectively. The strength of the city is about economic development. Africa is the resource centre of the world due to the abundance of youth energy domiciled in the continent. I am delighted to see African cities coming together for peering and evaluation of development indices. We need to get the youth engaged and create opportunities to guarantee their future.”

As part of the move to decongest metropolis and spread the state’s population, he said Lagos entered into “sister city” relationship with neighbouring Ogun State with the aim to deliver infrastructure that would encourage physical development in suburbs.

According to him, the siting of Lekki airport project in Epe, Sea Port project in Badagry and extension of Lagos rail infrastructure into Badagry corridor and boundary communities of Ogun State were part of the efforts being made by his government to decongest population in Lagos metropolis.

“Technology is another area we need to explore and we have great unicorns in Lagos. But, we want to do more. We should commit more investment in financial technology being driven by young, vibrant people in Africa. We must develop a seamless digital payment system across Africa to facilitate business connections. We must be able to build an infrastructure that will be cheaper, faster and easier for young people to communicate,” Sanwo-Olu noted.