The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu has described his administration’s activities as one that looks directly into the needs of the people of Lagos. He said his government has narrowed its agenda to critical areas that have helped to grow and develop the State.
Mr Sanwo-Olu stated this when he received the British High Commissioner, Mr Richard Montgomery at the Lagos House, Marina on Thursday.
The Governor noted that the administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S.+ agenda in the last five years has focused on the economy, stating that all the pillars attend to the yearning and demands of the people of Lagos.
According to Sanwo-Olu, ” Ours is a government that is working for the people. So we have driven an economic agenda in the last five years , and we believe all of the pillars speak to the needs of the people in critical areas where we believe growth and development can happen.
“We have given businesses the pathway to flourish, the opportunity to do well and generally, just create a peaceful, secure and safe environment for everyone to do well,” he said.
Governor Sanwo-Olu described the relationship between Lagos and the British High Commission as positive and progressive, adding that the long presence of the new High Commissioner in Nigeria and Lagos State will definitely be of immense value.
He assured the High Commissioner of the continued support of Lagos State Government in all areas of interest to the embassy while noting that existing benefits shall be deepened for mutual satisfaction.
According to Mr Governor, “Given the long history, you know that our two nations have enjoyed several decades of bilateral support, and more importantly the relationship we have with the deputy High Commissioners Office here in Lagos have been great.
“Over the last five, six years, we’ve continued to receive your support. We have continued to see a mutually beneficial relationship, and we believe that during your time, possibly, we are hopeful that we would also build better synergy together,’ he added.
In his remarks, the new High Commissioner, Mr Richard Montgomery described Lagos as a transformed place from the last time he was in the State 10 years ago pledging to learn from the innovation coming out of Lagos.
He added that his office would be interested in the profound economic opportunities in different sectors as well as research in areas of comparative advantages.
According to the Commissioner, “You know, it’s always a great pleasure for me to come to Lagos. What a fantastic city Lagos has turned since I was last posted here, 10 years ago, so much transformation has taken place here.
“We have a lot to learn from the innovation coming out of Lagos. From the various sectors here and, I think, one of the roles that my team will be interested in pursuing is the economic opportunities that Lagos provides, not just for Nigeria, but for the region and for the UK.
The new government of the UK wants to place emphasis on growth, trade and investment. I can see there are a lot of growth opportunities in Lagos and the UK talking about the economies, technology, infrastructure, higher education, digital technologies, and anything we can do as a High Commission here in the process of building partnership that will support our economies will be our top priorities,” said the High Commissioner.
