Lagos State governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday assured the business community that his administration will not allow disruption of businesses in the state.
Governor Sanwo-Olu gave the assurance during the 2023 Lagos Corporate Assembly, a business forum tagged “BOS meets with Business Community” at the Banquet Hall, Lagos House, Ikeja.
Speaking during the meeting attended by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; members of the State Executive Council, heads of agencies, Captains of Industries and entrepreneurs, Governor Sanwo-Olu urged government agencies to interface with corporate organisations and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) with a human face.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, who promised prompt attention to issues during the meeting, reassured the business community that his administration was committed to ease of doing business and a conducive environment for businesses to thrive in the state.
He said: “We have had a very extensive collaborative conversation and there was no disagreement. Everybody brought issues forward and I think at the end of the day, we were able to see solutions being espoused. We were able to make resolutions on how we need to rejig ourselves going forward.
“Mr. President has given a tall order. He wants an economy that can get to 1 trillion by 2030. And for that to happen, Lagos must be in that conversation. It is the economic nerve center of our country and the businesses that will make that happen need to be on the same page with Mr. President’s. And that is the whole essence of our meeting with them.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu while speaking on his administration’s commitment to deliver good governance and dividends of democracy, disclosed during the meeting that Lagos State requires about N7 trillion budget size to meet up with infrastructural and basic amenities in 2024.
The governor, however, noted that despite the uncertainty in the global business world, his administration cannot give excuses ‘but must work to achieve its set out goals as promised during the campaign period’.
He said: “Reports gathered from Ministries, Departments and Agencies show that if we have the resources, at least N7 trillion will be needed for the year 2024 budget to meet the state’s infrastructural challenges and other basic amenities. This proves that our proposed N2 trillion budget for 2024 is far from it.
“That is one of the challenges we are having presently. We want to fix roads and do it rightly. We need to scale up with modern technology and put in place enduring policies. We didn’t anticipate the current inflationary rate, our focus is on how to meet the demands of our people amidst the speculative market.
“We are where we are today and if we don’t get it right, it will have dire consequences for our country. But we can’t give excuses, we need to work together. We are running against time. I have a political timeline I am working with and we can’t afford to fail.
“We will need to work together and identify the way forward. We should be able to solve some of our challenges through your ideas and submissions. We must let the MSMEs breathe for a sustainable economy, through friendly policies.”
