The Organised Private Sector (OPS) has restated its commitment to continued deployment of the Lagos Economic Summit as a means of boosting development in the state.
The Summit which will hold virtually for the first time is scheduled to hold from Tuesday 16 to Thursday 18 February, 2021.
Speaking at a recent stakeholders’ conference on the Summit, the organised private sector (OPS) stressed the need for the government to focus on infrastructural development, job creation, waste management and social issues.
Other areas listed for government’s consideration by the OPS are investment in technology and innovation, security, while the government was also advised to enable the large population of entrepreneurial youth domiciled in the state to take advantage of their skills and talents.
“The government should match manpower development with available needs to create room for employment” said Otunba Francis Meshioye, Chairman, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ikeja branch at the Stakeholders’ Conference.
He said: “There are many companies domiciled in Lagos, adding that if the growth of industrialists is eroded, it will affect the economy and gross domestic product of the country at large”.
“Lagos needs more industrial clusters to become the desired economic hub, adding that the government should create viable links to channel goods from one cluster to another”. concluded Meshioye.
Earlier, the Director-General, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, said attention needs to be focused on municipal solid waste.
Olukanni, who expressed support for the summit, said Lagos State was still struggling with issues of waste management, which if not tackled could become a disaster.
According to him, there is a national policy on waste management, waste to energy, and wealth, which should be one of the studies at the summit.
With some of the issues for discussion listed, speakers from across the globe are ready to share useful insights and speak candidly to the issues that will advance socio-economic development of Lagos State.
Speakers that will grace the 3-day conference include Helen Grant, United Kingdom Trade Envoy to Nigeria, Jordi Borrut Bel, Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries, Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Yemi Candide-Johnson, SAN, Strachan Partners and other notable private sector leaders.
