Nigeria Lagos state to set up Economic team to drive growth

Nigeria, Lagos State plans to set up an economic management team, comprising both private sector practitioners and government personnel to further drive the growth of its economy, considered to be the fifth biggest in the continent. its governor, Akinwunmi Ambode said on Tuesday.

"Very soon we would be setting up what we would refer to as an Economic Management Team to drive the fifth largest economy, because that’s the way we need to envision ourselves and this Economic Management Team will involve nominees from the Chambers and other people in the private sector, so that we can collaborate because majorly this economy is driven by the private sector. Our duty is to create an enabling environment and fuse all that together, I think that synergy can just catapult Lagos into that global city state that we want it to be,” Ambode said.
The governor said the emergence of Lagos was very instructive, adding that government would explore synergy with private sector with the view to catapult Lagos into a true global city-state in the true sense of the word.
He noted that there was no doubt about the fact that the economy of Lagos was in the hand of the private sector and the willingness on the part of government to ensure an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, which according to him, was why his administration has been investing massively in security and other business incentives.
According to the Governor, his decision to come up with the Office of Oversees Affairs and Investment, otherwise known as Lagos Global, was part of efforts at encouraging investment in Lagos both from within and outside, among many other initiatives of the present administration.
He said: “I think it is very instructive to clearly state that the economy of Lagos is in the hands of the private sector and beyond the fact that Lagos is now the fifth largest economy in Africa, the drive to take Nigeria out of recession actually resides in the private sector and willingness on the part of the public sector.
“Because our economy is in the hands of the private sector and we are willing to allow them drive it, that is why we have decided to formulate policies and decisions that will make the private sector to thrive in this State and that is why in the last 18 months, we have been running this administration on a tripod of security, job opportunities and infrastructure development.”
While explaining the tripod, the Governor said his administration believed that when the people and investors are well secured, businesses will thrive and more people would be employed, while the resources generated in terms of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) would be deployed to provide infrastructure for the people.
Besides, Governor Ambode commended investors who have remained committed in doing business in Lagos despite the downturn in the economy, assuring that his administration would continue to work hard and partner with the private sector.
While justifying the recent joining of O’dua Investment Group by Lagos, the Governor said his administration was of the strong view that the socio-economic integration of western Nigeria depends majorly on Lagos, adding that it was better for states around Lagos to be equally prosperous to address migration issues.