At a time economic summits have become commonplace and sometime a mere economic buzz word around the world, the Lagos State Government has turned its own brand of economic summit, the Lagos Economic Summit (LES) popularly called EHINGBETI, into a huge platform to drive socio-economic and infrastructure development in the state.
Buoyed by the successes of the past six editions of LES, a public-private sector driven initiative, the stage is set again for the hosting of the seventh edition of the summit from April 8 to 10, 2014 under the theme, Powering the Lagos Economy: Real Opportunities, endless Possibilities to underline the investment opportunities behind what many regard as challenges in our clime as developing continent.
As preparations for the hosting of the summit gear up, the Lagos Economic Summit Group (LESG), the secretariat responsible for organising the bi-annual summit, said the 7thEconomic Summit is intended to open a floodgate of investment opportunities in the power, agriculture, transportation and housing sectors of the Lagos economy to many more private sector operators.
Speaking on the summit, the Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, and LESG Chairman, Ben Akabueze, said this year’s economic summit would consolidate the gains of the 2012 edition which focused on key critical sectors namely Power, Agriculture, Transportation and Housing. He said the whole essence was to accelerate sustainable development in the state.
“The 7th Lagos Economic Summit will focus on strategies for accelerating sustained growth in the economy of Lagos State especially through the creation of a vibrant and cost effective power sector. This is because an effective and efficient power sector is very strategic to the growth of other sectors like modern agriculture especially food processing.
‘‘The provision of an integrated transportation system and affordable, decent housing for the people are also very critical areas. So, we want to use this summit to attract investors who will be joining the state government in bringing about lasting solutions that will address the gaps that we have identified in these four areas. This is why the choice of summit theme which was informed by the set agenda and objectives of the summit is tagged ‘Powering the Lagos Economy: Real Opportunities, Endless Possibilities’”, he said.
It is heart-warming to note at this juncture that aligned to the positioning of the Lagos Economic Summit as a ‘to do’ summit as opposed to the common type ‘talk shop’ that many summits have become, the Lagos State Government has implemented 28 out of the 33 resolutions reached at EHINGBETI 2012 while the implementation of the remaining five resolutions is ongoing.
