The World Bank on Thursday said that the role of
Lagos to Nigeria’s stability and growth could not
be overemphasized, as the State remains the
economic gateway to the country and for the rest of
the world. Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode Country Director of World Bank, Mr. Rachid
Benmessaoud who spoke when he paid a courtesy
visit to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode at the Lagos
House in Ikeja, said the giant strides being recorded
by the present administration in the State had
received global attention, adding that the World Bank was proud to be part of the transformation. “Nigeria needs Lagos, Lagos is a huge part of the
growth for the country and the growth is about job
creation and stability of the country. We are really
honored to have been your partner and we would
be honoured to continue the partnership. “We really acknowledge the national, regional and
local importance of Lagos being the gateway to
Nigeria and for the rest of the world. There is a
success story that is being told not only in Nigeria
but globally and that success story is really thanks
to the leadership that you (Ambode) brings in with a clarity of vision and also the speed by which you
take decisions and implement programmes and
projects,” Benmessaoud said. He attested to the fact that the engagements the
World Bank have had with Lagos have been unique
in Nigeria, noting that as the existing partnerships
were coming to a close, they were looking at other
opportunities to build on the positive momentum
and partner the State on its urban regeneration drive. “We are closing our ongoing portfolio which is
very small right now, we would very much like to
support you and go for the next generation of
programmes that are responsive for your vision.
We are very pleased to partner with you as you set
an agenda for a transformative State,” He said the visit to the Governor, therefore, was to
explore ways to build on the existing partnerships
in the areas of transportation, energy and the
environment towards meeting the growing
demands of residents as well as attract more
investors into the State. “The objective of the visit is to maintain and
capitalize on the positive momentum that we have
created through our partnership over many years
and also to see how we can leverage that
partnership in helping you, supporting you
achieving your vision for the urban transformation in Lagos State that will enable you to create a
livable city, bringing more jobs that will not only
retain and expand the existing businesses but also
attract new businesses and generate more revenue
for the State and attracting the private sector,” he
said. Responding, Governor Ambode thanked the World
Bank for their partnership over the years, noting
that they have contributed immensely to the
success story of Lagos State, especially in the
transportation sector. Alluding to the fact that Lagos was the first State in
Nigeria to receive budget support from the World
Bank, the Governor commended the successful
execution of the three Development Policy
Operations (DPOs), saying that the State has been
able to show evidence that the partnership had been very successful. “It’s been very fruitful and we’ve become
totally responsive to ensure that whatever it is that
we are getting in terms of support from multilateral
institutions, we show credibility also to show that
we plan well for such support and we are willing to
also continue to abide by international standard to ensure that whatever it is we are getting as
support, it is used for the common good of every
citizen in Lagos which is the whole essence of
service,” the Governor said. Governor Ambode also said that his administration
has fashioned out a work plan to integrate water,
rail and road transport system to evolve a viable
means through Lagosians can commute within the
State with ease. “I think the new sets of proposal are the kind of
strategy we should put for Lagos State and that’s
what this visit speaks to. I will like to see a strong
support in the transport sector, so that we have
support for water, rail and other infrastructure that
goes with it. Like I said, we already have a work plan that integrates the three together which we
would share with the World Bank and also improve
on our discussions in terms of advisory
management, financing and also different kind of
support that ultimately help us to deliver the
dividends of democracy that we actually promised our people. “We are very serious that we want to improve on
transportation, improve on environment and also
power because we believe that’s the whole
essence of making the State investor friendly. We have improved a lot on security and we just
think that moving 23 million people on a daily basis
in a comfortable way would mean that we will
have to integrate our transport management
system in such a way that you can move actually
on water, using the rail also and then the road,” he said.