6th Lagos Corporate Assembly
BOS Meets Business
Wednesday, 29th July 2020
Organized by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives
I (Ms Yemisi Ransome-kuti) represented Lagos island Connect Initiative (LIC) at this event and made the following submissions to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu:
• Our experience in working at International, National & State levels indicated that there is a critical need to focus on the Local Government level to stimulate & galvanize local production, socio-economic growth & development.
• The State government & Private Sector should adopt one of LIC’s cardinal initiatives, the 2km rule, where businesses are encouraged to purchase goods & services, and recruit personnel locally, within a 2km radius, wherever it is feasible.
• Yearly Local Government Economic Summits should be organized. This will provide opportunities to identify comparative advantages for economic & social development in each Local Government & strengthen bottom-up growth, community integration and security.
• Lagos State should leverage existing Youth Centres & utilize them as Learning Hubs, Job Portals, etc., to accelerate & strengthen youth empowerment programs.
• The restoration of Values & Ethics is the bedrock for societal growth & development and Lagos State should be at the vanguard of promoting this at all levels.
• Since it’s establishment LIC has partnered with the State Ministries of Youth & Social Development, & Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives. It also partners with the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industries (LCCI) on mentoring & capacity building programs, and other NGOs & businesses in the private sector. We invited other participants at the meeting to join us.
• On behalf of LIC, we expressed the appreciation of its Trustees & Members for the support of the 1st Lady, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, who was present during the Business Assembly, @ the LIC Maiden Youth Connect Hangout (YCH) with Dr. Muda Yusuf, the DG of the LCCI in February 2020.
• The letter of introduction to LIC was also delivered to the Governor.
Response from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu
• The Governor appreciated our continued contributions to the development of Nigeria in general & Lagos State in particular
• He was excited about the LIC 2km rule and promised that the State Government will study the best ways to operationalize the policy. He fully comprehended the benefits of stimulating economic growth at the grassroots as a catalyst to social cohesion & development.
• He will encourage Local Governments to organize yearly Economic Summits. The Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Cooperatives thereafter, stated that they would investigate further.
• He opined that the restoration of Values & Ethics is everyone’s responsibility & we should all continue to work to institutionalize these norms in our society.
• The Governor was delighted to note that the 1st Lady, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu is already supporting the LIC and he encouraged her to continue with this effort.
We appreciated the efforts of the Governor in addressing the challenges of development in Lagos State, particularly those posed by the pandemic & look forward to receiving updates from him on promises made during the meeting.
Ms Yemisi Ransome-Kuti
Co-Founder
Lagos Island Connect (LIC)
