Yemi Olakitan 
The Lagos State Government has started reviewing memos from stakeholders as part of its efforts to develop the State Urban Development Policy. The state government, through the ministry, had requested memoranda from interested stakeholders to help in the quest of an enduring Lagos State Urban Development Policy through participatory and transparent process, according to Engr. Oluwole Sotire, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, spoke at the opening of the memoranda review meeting at the Women Development Centre, Agege at the weekend. According to him, reviewing memoranda was a required step after interested parties submitted them in response to the ministry’s request for public feedback. Sotire said that contributions came from a variety of sources, including MDAs of government, professional groups and regulatory authorities, university institutions, commercial professionals, and individual members of the public. She described the reaction to the call for memoranda as overwhelming.
He mentioned that attendees at the review meeting had been carefully and purposefully chosen from tested specialists in the public and private sectors, with an astute town planner, Lookman Oshodi, presiding over the proceedings, in order to achieve beneficial results.
The review conference would shortly be followed by a bigger municipal forum to permit more contributions, so he urged participants to be thorough in evaluating all proposals in the memoranda against the objective and focus of the proposed policy. The Permanent Secretary advised Lagosians to expect an inclusive and development- oriented Lagos State Urban Development Policy, in accordance with the State Government’s vision of “Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy,” saying that the watchword for the year was a sustainable environment.