Sanwo-Olu: High-Level Conversations to End Apapa Gridlock Ongoing

Segun James

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the weekend disclosed that high-level conversation was ongoing to resolve diverse complications responsible for traffic congestion in Apapa and its environs.

Sanwo-Olu, also, said the state government was committed to providing a friendly business environment for investors, citing what the state had been doing to provide strategic infrastructure within the state to aid business activities.

He gave this assurance at a meeting with the President of European Business Organisation (EBO) Nigeria, Mr. Adefolu Majekodunmi and his executives at Lagos House, Marina on Friday.

Sanwo-Olu disclosed that the state government “is having a lot of high level conversations to solve issues surrounding Apapa gridlock, especially issues relating to the ports in the area.”

He challenged the EBO to look at the opportunity in the Lekki Free Trade Zone area, saying part of the medium and long term solutions to Apapa gridlock, is to have another port outside Apapa and decongest tank farms in the area.

He further disclosed that the Lekki port “will commence operations next year. I will advise you as EBO to look at the opportunity in the Lekki Free Trade Zone area.

“There are two free zones in Lekki – Lekki Free Trade Zone and Lagos Free Zone. A lot of companies are already in the zones. We are putting a lot of infrastructure there; internal and external roads are coming up there, power and other things are also coming up there,” he said.

He added that his administration was committed to continually partner and deepen relationships with international investors and developmental partners to harness the opportunity in skills acquisition, training and investments.

He, therefore, implored the EBO to support the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, which is a deep intervention model to support and produce entrepreneurs in digital, agriculture, creative and construction industries.

He said: “We are open and willing to continue to partner with all of our international investors and development partners all over the world. I am sure European Union is an important component of that. We can indeed deepen that relationship.

“We believe the relationship is an opportunity for us to see how we can help the youths and look at direct support in terms of entrepreneurship for some of them and areas where we think we can collaborate.”

Also at the meeting, Majekodunmi said his organisation “is very keen to partner with Lagos State in digital economy, particularly in terms of innovation and technology, which is one of the key components of the THEMES developmental agenda of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration.”

He said the EBO, which operates from 45 countries, “is a worldwide organisation that represents the interest of European businesses outside the EU. The focus of the EBO Nigeria is to support European businesses operating in Nigeria from a perspective of investments with Nigerian entity.

“Europe is the largest trading partner with Nigeria, larger than China and America. Nigeria had a trade surplus as at 2020 of four billion Euros with the European Union itself.

“European businesses in Nigeria are very eager to invest in Nigeria, particularly in Lagos State, which is the investment destination of Nigeria.

“We want to work with Lagos State in a number of areas, particularly with regards to human capacity development, training, sustainability, digital economy and investments in certain areas, such as infrastructure, transportation, telecommunication, electricity, hospitals and such like as well.”