Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu has stated that the state government is open to collaboration with the Kingdom of Denmark especially in the agricultural sector to ensure food security.
The Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, who received on behalf of the Governor, the Consul General and Head of Trade of the Kingdome of Denmark, Ms. Jette Bjerrum on a courtesy visit, today in his Office, Ikeja Alausa, noted that the State has always had relationships with the Kingdom of Denmark.
Speaking at the backdrop of the forthcoming Nordic Nigeria Connect organized by the Scandinavian Countries coming up in November, Sanwo-Olu, emphasised the importance of agriculture as one of the major focus of his administration. He stressed the enhancement of management of agricultural produce, noting that “Lagos, which happens to be the smallest state in Nigeria in terms of land mass, host the highest population and as such, the request for food becomes enormous”.
He also added that one of the things the state wants to do is to track the agricultural produce that comes in, and from where, so that one can actually reduce the cost of food to the people and the quality of such stuff, which is part of government’s food security initiative.
Speaking on the other needs of Lagosians, which is encapsulated in the THEMES PLUS Agenda, which stands for; Transportation and Traffic Management; Health and Environment; Education and Technology; Making Lagos State a 21st Century Megacity, Entertainment & Tourism; and Security & Governance and the newly added PLUS, that represents Social Inclusion, Gender Equality and Youth Empowerment, the Governor noted that efforts are being intensified to achieve the desired result.
He stated that in achieving the above-stated goal, in form the need for embarking on the newly flagged-off Blue Rail Line, which is the first of its kind in Nigeria. “Although, it is a huge investment, but it’s well justified. You can imagine a population of 20 million people not having such infrastructure? That is why we embarked on it. And we still solicit for private collaboration but the government is just putting its scheme to make sure that it is viable, the people are there, so these are the areas in terms of transportation” he said.
On the forthcoming Nordic Nigeria Connect Event, coming up in November, Sanwo-Olu urged the Denmark Kingdom to provide a better understanding of the participating companies so that Lagos would know which sector would be of benefit to Lagos State.
Earlier in her remarks, Consul General and Head of Trade of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ms. Jette Bjerrum stated that it is very important for the Kingdom to understand the agenda of the Lagos State Government ahead of the Nordic Nigeria Connect event.
She noted that both the Danish Ambassador to Nigeria Mrs. Sune Krostrup and herself have toured Denmark two weeks ago, “where we have been talking to institutional investors, companies and we met with Ministers in Denmark, to answer to the invitation of the Nigerian President where he promised that Nigeria is open for business. In essence, that is the answer we are trying to convey to Nigeria from the Danish side”.
