Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, says the Lagos state
economy, which plays host to about 200 financial institutions, needs to be
connected to the rest of the world.
Sirika said this at the Ehingbeti Lagos Economic summit on
Tuesday, while presenting a letter of approval for a new airport in the
south-eastern state.
The minister, who acknowledge the economic potential of the
state, said the federal government did not hesitate to approve Lagos’ request
for a new airport because its rich culture, history, industries, and tourism
potential needs to be linked and shared with Africa and beyond.
“This city, which houses about 26.7 percent of national GDP,
housing our stock exchange, 200 financial institutions, 25 million people, on
5,377 square kilometres of landmass plus Eko Atlantic, plus all the industries,
the rich culture, the tradition, the history, the tourist attraction the Eyo
Festival, and so on and so forth, needs to be connected to the world to
continue to be the center of the economy of the activity of the country,
Nigeria,” Sirika said.
“And the only way you
can link this city of Lagos to the world is obviously — not the only way, but
the best way to connect — by infrastructure.
“So, when his excellency, the governor, approached us in
[the] civil aviation ministry and says he wants to build an airport in Lagos,
another airport? I said yes, this is a huge step in the very right direction.
And the reason is simple. Like I said, in my days of Lagos, the terminal point
is MaroKo, Sandfield. When you go there, you only go to mechanic to do panel beating
for you — that’s it.
“But today, from here, all the way to outer VGC, all the way
to Epe, it’s Lagos. The expansion is astronomical, it’s huge, it’s big. The
ideas and the size of the economy is good and big. So you need to continue to
link Lagos, not only with Nigeria, [but] Africa and the world.
“So if you look at
all these financial institutions, the 200 industrial estates and the Eko
Atlantic, there must be a way that these people will come in and out of Lagos
on another alternatively, which is the airport in Lekki. Your excellency, the
governor, this is a huge step in the right direction, we didn’t waste time to
give the approval. And we’re happy to present the certificate today.”
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