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Yar'Adua Pledges Support As Lagos Economic Summit Opens

Apr 23, 2008 - The President, Alhaji Umar Musa Yar'Adua, Wednesday emphasized the need for collaboration between the Federal and Lagos State Government in the development of Lagos saying this has become expedient as a result of the socio-economic importance of the State to the development of the whole nation.

President Yar'Adua, who spoke at the opening of the 4th Lagos Economic Summit at the Eko Hotel and Suites, said Lagos , as an economic nerve centre of the country, deserved such collaborative attention if Nigeria must join the league of developed nations of the world.

Represented by his Chief Economic Adviser, Mallam Tanimu Yakubu, the President acknowledged that more than 60 per cent of the nation's Gross Domestic Product was being generated in Lagos adding that the State accounts for no less than 65 per cent of the distributive trade that takes place in Nigeria today.

"The two tiers of government must collaborate in order to overcome the critical problems of development in the country", the President said adding that the nexus between the Federal Government's Seven-Point Agenda and 10-Point Agenda of the Lagos State Government must be exploited to the full to re-enforce the partnership between the two tiers of government.

The President, who expressed dismay that Lagos State was locked up in grim struggle with the Federal Government in the last seven years, however, pledged that the two tiers of government would work hand-in hand in the next four years to bring the desired transformation of Lagos into a first class world city.

"The next four years will see us working hand in hand for the transformation of Lagos ", the President said, pledging the full support of the Federal Government and its agencies to all efforts of the Lagos State Government toward the transformation of Lagos into a Mega-City.

Earlier, in his address to declare the Summit open, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), called on the Federal Government to complement the efforts of the Lagos State Government in developing the State by reviewing and removing any administrative and policy restrictions that may hinder its march forward.

Fashola also assured Lagosians that his administration's mission was to restore hope, prosperity and opportunity for everyone, urging all stakeholders to join the government "in this new exciting voyage enterprise and creativity, lest history judges us badly for failing to dare"

He said the summit, which started in year 2000, was all about Lagos and its place in Africa and the world adding that the summit entails building a more competitive globally integrated city and economy. Describing Lagos as "incontestably Nigeria's most populous city and state, Fashola said the task of rebuilding Lagos was driven by a number of factors most important of which were globalization, economic and social factors adding that with increasing movement of people, money and ideas across borders, global cities were locked in fierce competition for the best brains.

According to him, " Lagos is economic hub of Nigeria and the sub-region, yet poverty is pervasive and quality of life is poor. The attainment of the MDGs is severely threatened" adding that Lagos is the fulcrum of social and cultural change in the region .

Fashola said the summit would address seven core themes including Energy, Transportation, Water, Sanitation, Environment and Security. He added that while housing and urban planning were important to his administration's reform agenda, the development and maintenance of requisite human capital remained a major thrust of the Mega-city plan.

"We believe strongly that armed with the right information and strategy, we shall be better equipped to stimulate the accelerated development of our state", the Governor said. The Governor declared that from the experts taking part in the summit, his administration would learn the right experiences, global best practices needed to devise an integrated approach and to understand how to develop the human capital required for investment in the modernization efforts of the government. He said the government also needed to recognize and keep the fundamental character of Lagos as it plans for global city status and positions Lagos as a dynamic centre of growth.

"In essence, from your expertise we need the right experiences to build sustainable partnership with government, the private sector and other donor agencies and multilateral groups especially in the area of finance and need to consider a devolution of mandate, a governance arrangement that confers unambiguous authority on our municipal authorities, Local Government and even neighbourhood for the task of modernizing Lagos" , the Governor said.

Wishing all participants a successful and fruitful deliberation, the Governor declared, "This summit certainly will be a great success. I look forward to receiving you on your return as a valued partner in progress".

The opening ceremony witnessed by former Governor of Lagos during whose tenure the Summit began, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had in attendance dignitaries from within and outside Nigeria as well as the cream of Corporate and Public service Nigeria.