Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has called for greater attention to blue economy and also expressed the need for concerted efforts to end the perennial, interactable traffic gridlock in Apapa and environs of the state.
This came as Governor Sanwo-Olu called on the executive and legislature to develop the blue economy in Nigeria by paying greater attention to the sector.
The move for joint efforts in tackling Apapa gridlock was expressed during a courtesy call by the Senate Committee on Marine Transport to Governor Sanwo-Olu at the Lagos House, Marina.
Leading the Senate Committee on Marine Transport to Lagos, was the Chairman of the Committee and former Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Sen. Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni.
READ ALSO: http://Nigeria’s economy to grow by 3.1 per cent in 2024 – IMF
Eshinlokun-Sanni, said Lagos is critical to the blue economy, noting that the committee was on a visit to Lagos State because 70 per cent of the activities in the sector take place in Lagos.
He said some of the challenges to the growth and development of the blue economy in Nigeria like non state actors, illegal collectors and ocean surge issues should be addressed immediately.
He urged Governor Sanwo-Olu to fulfill his promise to complete the automated trailer call log system, also known as Call-Up System to ease traffic in the port access environs.
Eshinlokun-Sanni, also called on the governor to address the problem of ocean surges in some of the coastal communities in the Lekki-Ajah corridor.
Responding to the requests of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Sanwo-Olu said Lagos being the former federal capital with huge aquatic resources, had the burden of providing home to the majority of the maritime agencies under the purview of the committee.
READ ALSO: http://(OPINION) China President: Lessons From ‘Up and Out of Poverty’
The governor described the visit of the Senate Committee members to Lagos State for oversight functions as “apt and strategic.”
The governor said the committee’s responsibility was also key to national development.
While pledging his support for the work of the committee, Sanwo-Olu appealed to the federal government to help the state in building more trailer parks to complement the state government’s efforts in tackling the menace of Apapa gridlock.
The governor stressed that all hands must be on deck to aggressively reduce bottlenecks for businesses to thrive in Lagos State, especially in the blue economy sector to increase revenue for the government and to create wealth for individuals.