29th October, 2015
Kazeem Ugbodaga
Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode says in the next three and half years, his administration will vigorously pursue four key pillars of the Lagos State Development Plan, LSDP, which are the agenda for his government.
These pillars, he said, are Economic development, Infrastructure development, Social development and protection and Sustainable development.
The governor, who spoke while declaring open the three-day retreat for his Cabinet members at the Golden Tulip Hotel, FESTAC, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, on Thursday, said the vision of his administration was clear, which was to make Lagos Africa’s model mega-city, make Lagos globally competitive; a global, economic and financial hub that is safe, clean, functional, productive and prosperous.
He said his vision for Lagos was already set out in the LSDP, saying that the LSDP was designed to overcome challenges, noting that his government would remain focused on its four pillars.
“The first pillar of the Plan is Economic development. This is fundamentally about wealth creation through employment for our people. We need more and better jobs, not only for today’s population but to match the growth that we know is coming. In Lagos, you can always succeed. This is the Nigerian dream where hard work, courage, perseverance and merit pay, regardless of someone’s background.
“The second pillar is Infrastructure development. We know that our infrastructure will hold us back if we do not improve it. We will ensure that we make money available for long term investment in infrastructure – transportation, power, housing and water all being key issues. We will work with the private sector to achieve these and set out to complete the Blue Line light rail, improve our bus network, make better use of our water assets for transport purposes.
“When talking of infrastructure we must not forget modern communications infrastructure. We can reduce our traffic problems if we invest in better communications so the need to travel is reduced. We can create more jobs if we have better ability to communicate to the rest of the world. We can also make Lagos safer through technology and improve the efficiency of government,” he said.
The governor said it was, therefore, critical that his government found ways of investing in new technology and related infrastructure, stressing that his administration would prioritise access to broadband and utilize digital approaches, such as in the land administration where government’s processes could be transformed for the benefit of the people and business.
On the third pillar, which is Social development and protection, Ambode said this would also require investment as government must invest in the people, invest in their health and education and their security.
On Sustainable development, Ambode stated that his cabinet must always bear in mind the future, such that the children could live and prosper here despite the growth in population that could be expected in the future.
“Our planning must take into account the generation of pollution that comes with economic growth and the vulnerability of a low-lying coastal region like Lagos to changes in climate and flooding. There is always a need to balance the short term solutions to our problems with creating solutions that will stand the test of time.
“We have come a long way already but have a long journey ahead. We will in these next three and half years take many great steps together towards the creation of that model mega city – a leader not just in this continent but one that competes with the best in the world.
“This brings me to the key aspect of this retreat – Leadership. Everyone here is a leader in their field and we will explore what it means to lead our people and our citizens – how do we make more of making a difference even in these times of scarce resources? We will hear from external speakers on key aspects of leadership during the course of this retreat – please reflect on what they have to say,” he said.
“I want us all to focus on how we lead and to understand what effective leadership looks like in our context. I remind you all of the acronym we set for L.A.G.O.S – Leadership, Accountability, Good Governance, Opportunity and Service. That is what we are about. We must demonstrate leadership and good governance,” he added.