Adeyinka Adeniji 
…receives UK Foreign Secretary
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday assured global investors, particularly British businesspeople of a conducive environment for their investments to thrive.
He gave the assurances when he received the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Sanwo-Olu said the new UK’s trade approach aligned with the state’s growth plan, adding that Lagos possesses a huge population of creative and dynamic young people yearning for new opportunities across sectors.
He said the state government had sustained an investment in knowledge based training opportunities for young people to develop their talents and make their skills lucrative in the modern economic order.
This agenda, the governor said, is to make Lagos a human development capital of the continent, where investors would find competent professionals with the right skills in any sector of the economy.
Sanwo-Olu shared business opportunities waiting to be harnessed in waste management, stressing that Lagos grappled with over 10,000 metric tons of waste daily, which could serve as raw materials for companies converting waste to clean energy.
He said: “We want you to go back home with the level of confidence that Lagos is a place to put investment and we will continue to make this environment a lot more attractive to businesses that are looking forward to more growth and opportunities.”
Earlier, Lammy, accompanied by the British High Commissioner to Nigeria Richard Montgomery and his deputy Jonny Baxter, had said Lagos became his first port of call in his Africa tour, given the centuries sold relationships between the two countries.
He also mulled a potential deal with two UK companies willing to invest in clean and renewable energy in Lagos. The secretary said the socio-cultural and economic relationship between the United Kingdom and Nigeria was second to none, pointing out that Lagos had a huge number of families with relatives in London and other parts of the UK.
He said: “My first port f call in my visit to the continent of Africa is Lagos, which is naturally a bustling economic hub not just for Nigeria but also West Africa. “What I have been experiencing since my arrival in Lagos is dynamism, vibrancy and huge opportunities that exist in this great city.”
