South West Governors, Others Harp On Regional Integration For Economic Devt

Stakeholders in the South-West region, including the state governors, converged on Ibadan on Thursday to identify and address the region’s challenges. They concluded that the area needs to improve its multi-modal transport system to enhance development, boost regional integration, and drive the economy.

The stakeholders, comprising top government officials, retired and serving Heads of Service, and Permanent Secretaries, among others, said it was important that the region opens its transport multimodality, adding that this would develop networks and positively impact the region.

The call was made at the launch of a 262-page proposed plan of action for the economic development of the South-west region of Nigeria by the Association of Retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries: South-west Nigeria (ARHOSPS-SWN) and the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN Commission) on Thursday in Ibadan.

The event was attended by the six governors of the southwest region, represented by their deputies and heads of service.

The organisers said the document was a thoughtfully conceived initiative that would reposition the Southwest as Nigeria’s beacon of development.

Speaking, Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, applauded ARHOSPS-SWN, saying it had taken proactive steps to ensure economic development of the South-West region.

Makinde, who his deputy, Barrister Bayo Lawal, represented, described the document as a timely intervention to confront the rising security threats in the region, which have affected many Nigerians.

The governor, calling for regional integration, noted that localising security in each state of the region had reduced the menace of armed bandits.

“Regional integration through an intra-state read network will improve development in the Southwest.”

Also speaking, the Osun State governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, said the state governments in the region were working to collectively address the region’s development by putting up initiatives to improve safety.

He said the State police is the way to go, as this will further enhance the security architecture in the region.

Adeleke, represented by his deputy, Prince Kola Adewusi, promised that the state government and others in the region would study the proposed action plan.

The governors of Ogun, Dapo Abiodun; Ekiti, Abiodun Oyebanji; Ondo, Lucky Aiyedatiwa; and Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who their Heads of Service represented, also pledged their support to ARHOSPS-SWN’s proposed plan of action.

Earlier, the Regional President, ARHOSPS-SWN, Overseer Dr. Ebenezer Okebukola, described the books as a blueprint for progress in the region.

“This book, the culmination of rigorous research, insightful deliberations, and the collective wisdom of our esteemed members, represents our unwavering dedication to the land that has nurtured us and to the generations that will follow”, he said.