Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has harped on increased partnership and concerted efforts on the part of the Federal Government and federal lawmakers to achieve economic prosperity.

Governor Sanwo-Olu spoke on Thursday during a courtesy visit by the National Assembly Joint Committee on Works at the Lagos House, Marina. The Joint Committee comprised members of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Works, led by Senator Barinada Mpigi and Hon. Akin Alabi, respectively.

Sanwo-Olu noted that there are challenges even with the huge opportunities in Lagos. He therefore stressed the need to build more infrastructure, maintain existing ones, and make funding available to keep them in proper shape to serve the people of Lagos better.

He said, “We want to thank President Bola Tinubu for his great vision in ensuring that different parts of the country have meaningful, impactful, and purposeful governance, and he is showing it in all of his various interventions. The latest being the Renewed Hope Infrastructure Fund that the government is trying to put together.

“Lagos deserves, desires, and requires some of the infrastructure that you have gone around to inspect because it is important for us to build additional infrastructure, but more importantly, it is important to maintain and preserve existing infrastructure because these are assets that belong to all of us, the Nigerian people.

“For us as a government, we see ourselves as partners with the National Assembly and the Federal Government, because indeed, what we see at the end of the day is that our people get service. It is about the Nigerian conversation. It is about building our economy, nation, and country.

“We are excited that those investments are being made, and we want to assure you that this investment will be put to good use, preserved, and maintained properly. We will ensure that it brings about economic development for our people.”

Governor Sanwo-Olu, while commending the joint partnership between the Senate and the House of Representatives, encouraged members of the 10th National Assembly to continue to be passionate about their constituencies and ensure representational governance.

“We are all partners in progress, and what I will encourage you to do is let us not be deterred by whatever force that is trying to bring us down. Let us not be discouraged by forces of ethnic dimension, issues around kidnapping, banditry, and unwarranted death. That is not who we are. We are people who are driven by the willingness to create wealth, make life meaningful for citizens, and create opportunities for one another,” he said.

Speaking earlier, the leader of the team, Senator Barinada Mpigi, said they are in Lagos as part of their oversight function to see firsthand some of the Federal Government’s major projects ongoing in Lagos and its environs, which include the 700-km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road, repair works on the 3rd Mainland Bridge, and the Carter Bridge, amongst others.

The Senate Committee Chairman on Works commended the efforts of Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration in complementing the Federal Government’s infrastructural drive in the commercial nerve centre of the country.

He also commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for doing a great job with the level of security around Lagos, particularly the Red and Blue rail lines.

Senator Mpigi, in the same vein, commended President Bola Tinubu for appointing the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, who seems to be a round peg in the round hole going by the level and quality of work ongoing at the project site.

The Lagos State Government, through the Office of Urban Development and Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) has vowed to remove buildings erected without government approval.

This is as the agency also revealed that it has finalised plans to synergise operations with the private sector in the built industry for better service delivery.

The synergy which is to be christened “Accredited Certifiers Program” is aimed at strengthening the capacity of government officials in monitoring and enforcement of building regulations in the state.

Disclosing this at the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) headquarter in Ikeja, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Electronic Geographical Information System(e-GIS) and Urban Development, Dr. Olajide Babatunde said that the recommendation of Accredited Certifiers Programme emanated from the Government White Paper on the report of the Lagos State tribunal of the building collapse on 44 (B, C, D), Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos which calls for a more robust public private sector synergy that will help boost enforcement exercise in terms of monitoring and inspection of all on-going building constructions in the State.

According to Dr. Babatunde, the main reason for the partnership which has been in the pipeline since 2021 is basically for zero tolerance to building collapses in the State through robust monitoring and inspection of all on-going constructions in the State as the government cannot do the job alone.

He stated,  “The synergy with the private sectors as recommended by the White Paper report will enhance a better services delivery in some specifics aspects such as monitoring of the built environment, screening of drawings and inspection of projects above 6 floors and complementary roles for stage certification of projects above 6 floors, an initiative that will make the building process seamless and more effective.”

He noted that Lagos is blessed with large numbers of professionals in the built environment who are ready to bring in their expertise and capacity to ensure that buildings in the state are constructed to meet international standards.

Dr. Olajide also emphasised that for seamless take-off of the Accredited Certifiers Programme to be achieved, various orientation workshops will be organised for successful Consortium and individual professionals that met the criteria of becoming an Accredited Certifiers.

The Permanent Secretary, Office of Urban Development, Engr. Shodeinde Nurudeen on his own part stated that, LASBCA is the sole enforcer of any form of building development in the State and in order to reduce or eliminate the multiplicity of enforcement agents in the built industry, other State Agencies and Parastatals must interface between LASBCA.

“LASBCA is a ‘One Stop Shop’ for all other Agencies/Parastatals of the State Government involved in monitoring and enforcement of building regulations in the state  and in order to reduce the people’s misconception of multiple inspections, everybody will be allowed to perform their core responsibilities but LASBCA will be the sole enforcer,” he stated.

Speaking earlier to journalists in his office, the General Manager of Lagos State Building Control Agency, Arc. Gbolahan Owodunni Oki disclosed that the agency will not condone illegal construction of buildings in any part of the state as the agency is fully ready to remove all buildings constructed without the requisite permit.

Oki was reacting to the distortion of the master plans of some part of the state by people who he describe as “omo onile” with their indiscriminate sales of lands earmarked by the Government for roads, drainages and other purposes of public interest to unsuspecting members of the public.

He noted that the government will not hesitate to remove buildings constructed on such lands earmarked for public interest as ignorance of the law is no excuse. He advised developers and land owners to always crosscheck titles of property they seek to purchase with the state land registry before finalising the purchase agreements.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has stated that his administration is working tirelessly to position Lagos as Africa’s premiere digital hub.

The Governor spoke at the ground-breaking ceremony of NXTRA by Airtel Data Centre, held on Tuesday at the Eko Atlantic, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Delivering his remarks, Sanwo-Olu said the event is not merely the construction of a facility, but the dawn of a new era in data control, security, and preservation throughout Africa.

The Governor said the data centre, anticipated to commence operations by the third quarter of 2025, will not only symbolise Nigeria’s progress but also serve as a crucial pillar in realising digital aspirations.

He said, “This initiative resonates with my administration’s goal of making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, and I welcome this collaboration between Airtel Africa and the Lagos State government towards achieving a transformative digital leap for Nigeria.

“This Data Centre, with its substantial capacity, will unlock vast potential across various sectors – from nurturing innovation in tech startups to enhancing government service efficiency. It will generate employment, attract investments, and position Lagos as a premier digital hub in Africa.

“Today’s groundbreaking ceremony marks not just the commencement of construction but the initiation of a new narrative. It is a narrative propelled by collaboration, innovation, and a shared commitment to a prosperous digital future.”

Governor Sanwo-Olu while appreciating Airtel for building the Data Centre in Lagos, said: “Airtel Africa, through NXTRA, has emerged as a trailblazer in constructing cutting-edge data center facilities across the continent. Their commitment to the highest standards in data management, technological innovation, and extensive network infrastructure is truly commendable.

“With a total capacity of 180 MW distributed across 13 major Data Centres and over 48 Edge Data Centers, NXTRA is poised to redefine data storage and accessibility in Africa.

“This Data Centre aims to establish a secure control hub for data storage and management within Africa, meet the escalating demand for cloud services and data consumption in Nigeria and beyond while contributing to the digital economy by providing scalable infrastructure for businesses and government services.

“I commend Airtel Africa and NXTRA for their dedication to Nigeria and Africa. The Lagos State Government stands steadfastly behind this project, offering unwavering support to ensure its successful realisation.”

Governor Sanwo-Olu also congratulated the outgoing Group CEO, Airtel Africa, Dr. Segun Ogunsanya, for his immeasurable contributions to the growth of Airtel’s digital infrastructure in Africa.