Greener Lagos: Ambode solicits support from private sector

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has attributed the success recorded in the greener Lagos initiative to the active involvement of the private sector and solicited for more support.

He expressing delight at the numbers of sites already developed and maintained by private companies and individuals across different locations in the State.

Ambode who made this known during the 2nd Stakeholders Forum on Greening on Tuesday at Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria recalled that the Public-Private Partnership which started about 15 years ago has greatly reduced the expenditure of government on the greener Lagos initiative.

He noted that about 120 sites had so far been developed and maintained through private sector participation out of the over 350 sites in all the Local Government and Local Council Development Areas, in the State.

According to the governor, the Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency was presently opening up more areas and sites in all the 57 LGAs and LCDAs in the State for adoption by interested corporate bodies or individuals for the continuation of the Lagos Greening Initiative.

Ambode stated that the belief of his administration was that in the foreseeable future, the maintenance of all gardens and parks across the State would have been taken up by “the Green Investors” and that the state government would only regulate and monitor their activities.

He maintained that although the cost of establishing world class recreational Parks and Gardens with state-of-the-art features and facilities were quite enormous, his administration would not rest on its oars in investing in the sustainability of the environment.

Highlighting some giant strides of the state government in the greening initiative, Ambode said: “the ongoing upgrading of Alausa Park in front of Lagos State House of Assembly to a world class standard with the provision of improved infrastructure and garden lights will serve as a major source of attraction to the citizenry.

“Also in the last two years, we have commenced the landscaping and beautification of 7 setbacks along Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi, the Gbagada-Oshodi median and the LASUTH perimeter fence setback, Oba Akinjobi Way, Ikeja. All these had attained over 60% completion status among several others.”

He made a renewed call on private investors for their continuous support towards the upgrading and beautification of more sites and be part of the story of a transformed Lagos, stressing that such collaboration would further increase return-on-investment for business owners and also boost their business reputation.

The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Samuel Adejare added: “Our approach to infrastructural development in this State is all inclusive. As we build bridges, we beautify the environment; as we construct more roads we adorn them with trees; as we open up new towns, we landscape all the degraded areas; this is our attitude to moving Lagos towards becoming a sure destination of choice for tourism and investment”

Earlier, the Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Adejare, whose speech was read by the Special Adviser to the Governor on the Environment, Babatunde Hunpe said that the Forum would go a long way in improving the working relationship between the state government and the private sector “partners,” especially on how to support government and plan expansion of the greening culture.

“Convergence such as this is intended to create an avenue to review together all contending issues in all the policies relating to the environment with a view to making suggestions for improvement. Also, we can jointly facilitate shared inquiry into how to encourage adoption of green infrastructure through technology advancement at the State level” Adejare stated.

He appreciated the continued partnership of investors with the Ministry, saying that their support over the years had earned the State several awards locally and internationally.

The highlight of the events was the unveiling of the draft copy of Lagos Greening Policy and presentation of Green Ambassador Award to Zenith bank, GTBank, Ecobank, UBA, Fidelity Bank and SevenUp Bottling PLC for their sustained effort towards a cleaner and greener Lagos.