Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, has said the state will absorb all the shocks from Lagos.
He said there are advantages and disadvantages of Lagos overflow and assured that the state had laid a plan of actions and mechanisms that would ensure that “as people begin to migrate from Lagos to Ogun, to either live, work or play, the state is ready to give them quality education, quality healthcare, transportation, clean water and clean power.”
The governor disclosed this in an interview on a British Broadcasting Corporation Radio programme, Focus on Africa.
Abiodun lauded the decision of the United Kingdom (UK) government to identify the state as one of the beneficiaries of $80 million fund under the aegis of its Global Future Cities Prosperity Fund Programme.
The governor said the inclusion of Ogun State in the scheme “is a testimony to the fact that the state is not just a Gateway to Nigeria but the fact that the leadership of the state is poised to brace up to the challenges and turn all the push factors of the continent’s fifth largest economy to pull factors that can stand the test of millennial development.”
Global Future Cities Prosperity Fund Programme recently identified Ogun State as one of the 19 cities in 10 countries that would benefit from the prosperity fund set up by the UK government.
“Fortunately, the Global Future Cities Prosperity Fund Programme has identified Abeokuta as one of the 19 cities in 10 countries that will participate in the Global Prosperity Future Cities Programme. What this means is that today, Ogun is called the Gateway State for a reason – because you cannot traverse between Lagos and the rest of Nigeria without going through Ogun State. Ogun State has now become an overflow to Lagos.
“We must be prepared for that overflow in all ramifications. So, as people begin to migrate from Lagos to Ogun, to either live, live, work and play, we must ensure we provide for them, quality education, transport and healthcare; we must provide clean water, clean power, clean environment and good physical development,” he said.
The governor said the administration would give the state a facelift that would attract the kind of investment capable of turning the state into a city that could withstand modern development in terms of architecture and infrastructure.