Lagos state has the potential to run a 24hour economy, Dr. Yakubu Olajide Bashorun, Permanent Secretary, Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment (Lagos Global) has said.
Bashorun who spoke exclusively with The Nation on the sidelines of the Ease of Doing Business Lagos validation workshop with the World Bank in Lagos, said the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration was doing everything humanly possible to ensure that the state succeeds in all scores.
“With all sense of responsibility I can say that the present government is doing all it takes to make Lagos state a truly functional mega city. At the risk of sounding immodest, I can state here that the government has embarked on a number of reforms which I believe strongly is preparing the ground to make the state run a 24hour economy. If you look at the area of security for instance, the government expended over N4billion to kit our security apparatus,” he said.
Pressed further, he said: “The Light Up Lagos Initiative is also another initiative embarked upon by the state government to ensure ewe make Lagos is a 24hour economy.”
Speaking earlier, the Special Adviser on Overseas Affairs and Investment, Prof. Ademola Abass noted that since the advent of the Ambode administration in Lagos State, the state had witnessed tremendous reforms in many areas to warrant remarkable improvement in the state’s performance on the Ease of Doing Business ranking.
He said that countries were rated by the World Bank Group, “Doing Business” based on the relative ease of doing business within their shores, using certain parameters including the ease of starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, paying taxes, trading across borders, getting credit and enforcing contracts.
He assured investors that no proposal would stayed beyond 120days with the Lagos Global so that investors could have good working experience in Lagos State.
Earlier, the Country Manager, International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group Nigeria, Ms. Eme Essien remarked that the ease of doing business ranking was relative, depending on the performance of other countries, adding that of 47 economies in Africa, Nigeria ranked 36.