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The Seventh edition of the biennial Lagos Economic Summit (EHINGBETI 2014) opened on Tuesday with the Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) reiterating that the State Government has shown by unflinching commitment and unquestionable hard work that it means what it says and that the Summits are not mere talk shops.
Governor Fashola who spoke at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island venue of the Summit with the theme, “Powering the Lagos Economy: Real Opportunities, Endless Possibilities before a gathering of world leaders and economic experts added that the results of the implementation of the resolutions are proof, if any is needed, of the resolve to convince by actions rather than by words.
“As a Governor and as a team we have resolved to talk less and do more. We do this for very many reasons. The most important of which is that we all have agreed on the problems. Our resolve is to create opportunities for enterprise and prosperity from these problems. We have seen almost three decades of broken promises across the world and particularly on our continent and in our country”, he noted.
He explained that at the last Summit held in 2012, 33 resolutions were passed and 28 of them have been implemented, adding that in total between the Summit of 2008, 2010 and the last Summit of 2012, a total of 77 resolutions were passed and the State Government has implemented 72 of the resolutions.
The Governor who focused on the last Summit, said as part of efforts to leverage on the economic growth on the continent and by extension the country, the emphasis was on making sure that the ordinary people not only felt the impact of the growth but were included in the process and could at some time tell the story of their participation and benefit.
He said consequently at the l 2012 Summit, the state unveiled its economic commitment to PATH which is the acronym for Power, Agriculture, Transportation and Housing and has achieved a very remarkable level of success in it.
While sharing the details of some of the successes recorded at the last Summit, he informed that the state has successfully added two power plants to the existing one at Akute and has in the process created 259 jobs through construction which has brought appreciable environmental, health, education, social and economic impact.
He stated that the two power plants which are fired by gas has led to the decommissioning of a total of 198 generators and has reduced the energy cost of energy in Lagos House Marina among other public facilities covered by 40 percent.
He noted that the lsland Maternity which is one of the connected sites now has uninterrupted power adding that no pregnant woman will die again at child birth simply because there was a problem with power supply.
The Governor also said progress is being made at the two additional power plants in ikeja and Lekki which are expected to come on stream in the third and fourth quarters of the year to bring the total number of state Government initiated embedded power projects to five.
“Between the last Summit and now, our focus on public power through Independent Power Plants and street lighting has resulted in lighting up 242 streets in Lagos by the installation of 10, 533 electricity poles, covering a total area of 316km of street lighting”, he explained.
The street lights according to Governor Fashola, are distributed across Lagos where 58 have benefitted in Lagos Island, 33 in Alimosho, 47 in Mushin, 15 in Badagry, 28 in Surulere and Ijora, 19 in Ikoyi /Victoria Island/Ajah, 27 in Ikeja, Oshodi and Ilupeju , 7 in Yaba and 8 in Agege.
He explained that the impact of the street lighting initiative is a resurgence in night life, a 24 -hour economy and a blossoming of the entertainment, hospitality and tourism sub -sectors of the economy.
He added that an economic study of the impact of street light in areas like Iyana Ipaja, Alimosho shows that traders dealing in perishable goods experienced an average monthly growth of about 42 percent while those trading in electronics experienced an average of about 37 percent income growth which they attributed to additional 3-5 hours of trading that the street lights allows them daily.
The Governor said this explains in part, the theme of the 2014 Summit ”Powering the Lagos Economy : Real Opportunities, Endless Possibilities, adding that the power audits carried out in many parts of the state show that many homes are generating power through diesel and petrol fired generators for their private use.
He said this self generation is not only environmentally injurious, it is economically disadvantageous because it costs up to four times more than the public power tariff, adding that even the maintenance of the state public facilities like schools, hospitals, waterworks which are not covered by the power plants show that the largest single cost government pays is for diesel which is about 40 percent of the maintenance contract costs.
The Summit Keynote Speaker and former President of Georgia, Mr Mikheil Saakashvili who spoke on “Powering Lagos: Real Opportunities, Endless Possibilities,” commended the Lagos State Government for the bold steps it is taking in the field of agriculture and energy, saying his country Georgia also undertook similar steps in the past.
According to him, on assumption of office in his country, corruption was at an all time high hence he took some very bold and audacious steps which included firing the entire men and officers of the Police Force and later the Customs Service and that by the time he left office the incidence of corruption has reduced to just about two percent.
He said as a government, his administration looked inward and believed in what it was doing with a firm commitment to change things for the better, adding that Georgia at that time also had no relationship with Russia and even contended with a sudden cut in supply of gas from Russia.
Mr Mikheil Saakashvili cautioned the government against swallowing the economic pills of foreign financial organizations in terms of economic management, noting that in the case of Georgia what his administration did was to completely do the opposite of whatever they prescribed.
The former President said what he discovered was that not all the prescriptions were good and acceptable and urged the government to always listen to its heart and do what it considers right in such circumstance.
In a message of goodwill, the Governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun congratulated Governor Fashola for the successes recorded at the Summit, adding that Ogun State has learnt a lot from the many positive initiatives of the Lagos State Government.
Also speaking, the Power Africa Co-ordinator for Nigeria USAID, Ms Pauling Sharon commended the massive development that has taken place in the Lagos metropolis, saying the American Government aligns with policies of the Lagos Government on commercial issues.
The State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Ben Akabueze who gave a comprehensive overview of the successes recorded with the recommendations at the last Summit said a greater percentage of the recommendation have been achieved by the state government thus underscoring the importance it attaches to the Summit as a vehicle for development.
He explained that the few recommendations that are yet to be implemented are those that are largely involving other agencies that are outside the control of the State Government and that efforts are still being concretised in those respect too.
The General Manager of the State Electricity Board, Mrs Damilola Ogunbiyi also gave an insight into the successes recorded in the energy sector by the state government especially as it affects recommendations made at the last Summit in terms of using Power as a stimulant for growth.
The Co-Chairman of the Lagos Economic Summit Group (LESG) and C.E.O of Standard Chartered Bank, Mrs Bola Adesola said Lagos State is walking its talk in expressing its commitment to the power distribution.
She charged everyone to help in the quest of the state government to build the many more Independent Power Plants (IPP) that would develop the state because it has got the potentials.
The opening ceremony also featured an interactive session where registered participants downloaded the Summit Apps and sought answers to questions from Governor Fashola and former President Saakashvili.
The event was attended by many dignitaries including major private sector players, corporate chief executives, the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Hon Adejoke Orelope Adefulire, members of the State Executive Council including the Secretary to the State Government, Dr (Mrs) Oluranti Adebule, Commissioner for Commerce, Mrs Sola Oworu, Establishment and Training, Mrs Florence Oguntuashe, legislators and members of the Diplomatic Corps including the United States Consul General, Mr Jeff Hawkins and several international speakers who are billed to speak at the three day talkshop
