Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, on Thursday asked the Lagos State Government to develop a spatial development and investment compact to coordinate cross-border infrastructure, regional economic corridors, environmental resilience, and investment opportunities in the South-west
Bamidele, also, urged the state government ‘to move from planning as a governmental activity to planning as a coordinated system for delivering economic value, social welfare, environmental resilience and regional prosperity.’
He made the call in a keynote address he delivered at the Lagos Physical Planning Summit held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, seeking the creation of a Lagos-Southwest Development and Investment Compact.
Speaking at the summit on Thursday, Bamidele said Lagos ‘must move from planning as a governmental activity to planning as a coordinated system for delivering economic value, social welfare, environmental resilience and regional prosperity.’
The transition, according to him, requires a compelling change in our mindset, the strengthening of our institutions, a re-organisation of investment priorities, and the building of a much closer relationship between development plans and implementation.
He said: ‘Lagos’ long-term prosperity cannot be secured through isolated state planning alone. Its economy is closely connected to neighbouring states through shared boundaries, labour markets, housing, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation logistics, trade and environmental systems.’
He, therefore, proposed the development of a Lagos-to-Southwest Spatial Development and Investment Compact as a practical framework for coordinating cross-border infrastructure, regional economic corridors, environmental resilience and investment opportunities.
He explained that the establishment of the Lagos-Southwest Spatial Development and Investment Compact would serve as a platform through which Lagos and willing partner states can coordinate regional planning, identify shared infrastructure priorities, and mobilize investments for projects that deliver benefits across state boundaries.
He said the proposed compact should bring together Lagos and Southwest state governments, relevant federal institutions, planning authorities, infrastructure agencies, the organised private sector, professional bodies, and development partners.
He added that Lagos, with other Southwest states, should develop a framework involving Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti States, through which governments can harmonise regional transport planning, power infrastructure, industrial policies, tourism development, and investment promotion.
Bamidele suggested that the development plan should prioritise regional transportation, complementary economic corridors, cross-border urban planning, environmental resilience, and regional investment mobilisation.
He advised the Lagos State Government to exploit the emerging digital revolution by expanding broadband infrastructure, smart city technology, digital services, innovation hubs, and technology-driven enterprises, while equipping its workforce with relevant digital skills.
Bamidele submitted that the future of Lagos ‘will depend not only on the quality of its development plans, but also on the determination with which those plans are financed, coordinated and implemented.
‘We must connect physical planning to economic development, infrastructure investment to measurable public benefits, digital innovation to effective governance, and state-level priorities to regional cooperation.
‘This requires capable institutions, predictable regulations, transparent financing, responsible investment, and sustained collaboration among government, the private sector, professional institutions, communities and development partners.’