'LAGOS WILL NOT CRIPPLE THE ECONOMY'

Lagos State Government is mindful of the state’s impact on the economy of Nigeria; hence it has no plans to cripple economic activities in the state and Nigeria in general.
State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, TPl. Francisco Bolaji Abosede disclosed this during the Press Briefing while rendering account of stewardship of the ministry in the last four years under the administration of the Babatunde Raji Fashola leadership.
Abosede stated that it is general knowledge that most banking and financial institutions have their headquarters in Lagos which also translate to the establishment of enormous bank branches. He however bemoaned that some of the banks do not follow due process before such branches are opened, thereby contravening Physical Planning Law in Lagos State.
He noted that Lagos State is critical to the economy of Nigeria and has not clamped down on banks as it will greatly affect the economy. In order to tackle this abnormality, TPl Abosede said several periodic meetings are being held with the banks as regards branch establishment, coupled with the periodic inventory and assessment of certain urban based activities and their impact on immediate environment such as petrol filling stations, petrol tank farms, eateries, banks and places of worship.
The Commissioner revealed that with Lagos as a megacity, the State Government is planning for 40 million people with the provisions of adequate infrastructure, both social and physical, to accommodate the influx of people adding that calculations and necessary parameters have been considered and are being balanced. He remarked that the physical planning activities carried out by the State Government are not without the collaboration and inclusion of stakeholders.
He explained that the inclusive governance method of the State Government is to make people comply willfully by persuasive means instead of forceful compliance. While stating that there is no plan without the approval of the people, TPl Abosede added that the 2010 Physical Planning Law is operational as the ministry is gearing towards rescheduling of the public meeting to involve the Press, professional bodies, institutions such as insurance companies, etc, to fine-tune the modus operandi of the law, stressing that laws are meant to be debated and examined exhaustively to arrive at a beneficial conclusion for all.
In the area of Urban Development, Abosede noted that the State Government has reported phenomenal growth and progress with the Tejuosho Market redevelopment under the Public-Private-Participation scheme, informing that the project is in two phases. According to him, the phase 1 of the project is at 70% completion stage. He also stated that Freedom Park (old Broad Street prison) has been redeveloped into a tourist attraction facility to serve as recreation and improve environmental quality of the state.
The Commissioner further revealed that the ministry is involved in the development of various transportation routes and utility lines (viz roads, rail lines, PHCN lines, etc), while also determining, establishing and delivering Right of Way (ROW) to free encumbrances which involves survey and acquisition description, identification, enumeration and removal of such encumbrances on completion of acquisition before the compensation process.
In her Vote of Thanks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Arc. (Mrs.) Yetunde Oluwatoyin Ajayi, mni commended Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) for his passion for physical planning issues in Lagos State which has put the state ahead of others. She noted the State Government has taken the trend of physical planning to greater heights by aligning herself with developed cities such as Dubai, Shanghai, Singapore, among others and this has also prompted the India Government her willingness to partner with the state on planning matters.
Arc. Ajayi noted that despite the challenges and peculiarities of Lagos State as the commercial nerve centre of sub-saharan Africa, the state is not deterred in making the environment sustainable, organized, liveable and business friendly.