Sanwo-Olu: Lagos’s Strategic Investments in Infrastructure for Economic Growth

Segun James

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said the state’s huge investments in infrastructure development was to shore up economic prosperity of the state.

The governor who stated this at the inauguration of the Upgraded Rehabilitated Ikoyi Network of Roads which included Thompson Avenue, Milverton and Mac Donald, Lateef Jakande roads, said that at the inception of his administration, an audit of the road infrastructure in the state conducted showed that that roads were the critical infrastructure on which almost all other activities depended.

He said, ‘’We were mindful of the fact that improved access across the state would lead to increased productivity.

The report of this audit revealed that many of the roads in our urban centres needed to be upgraded and this explained the slow vehicular and sometimes slow pedestrian movement being experienced by the people.

‘’The resultant effect was a loss of man-hours and a slowdown of the economy. This was totally unacceptable and inimical to our Greater Lagos and 21st Century Economy Vision.

‘’In consideration of the economic importance of Ikoyi as the real estate hub of Lagos and to address the perennial flooding issues peculiar to the axis, we formally flagged off a regeneration initiative comprising infrastructural renewal and upgrade/rehabilitation of road and drainage projects in July, 2020.‘’

According to him, apart from addressing perennial flooding, the initiative was targeted at re-engineering the designated roads to improve traffic flow and network efficiency.

‘’Today, the completion and formal commissioning of these rehabilitated and upgraded roads (Lateef Jakande/MacDonald, Milverton and Thompson Avenue) is a testament to our determination to keep improving the living conditions of our people through well-thought-out policies and programmes,’’ he said.

He pointed out that his administration,’’ Is cognizant of the fact that strategic investment in infrastructure is the foundation for long-term growth, and the provision of adequate road infrastructure will generate a strong economic base for improved productivity and standard of living.

‘’As you can see, our effort to relocate some trees around Ikoyi was not to de-green Ikoyi but to systematically ensure the sustenance of development efforts such as road pavement and ancillary infrastructure development.’’

The governor appealed to members of the residents association to see the bigger picture and the need to prioritise the urban renewal and flood control initiative in Ikoyi.

While urging the residents to take ownership of the projects, he said, ‘’I urge you to refrain from any act that may undermine the durability of these roads. There are several infrastructural projects competing for taxpayers’ money, and we all have the joint responsibility of optimising resources and protecting our infrastructure.’’