LASG seeks increased private sector support on infrastructure growth

The Lagos State Government (LASG) has called for more support from the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to help bridge the infrastructure gap in the State, noting that the State is open for credible partnerships that would impact the lives of people and the Lagos business community positively.
Indeed, the State added that no economy can survive without the support of the private sector.

The Governor, Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu at the commissioning of the renovated Resettlement Community Primary Healthcare Centre and Resettlement Community Junior Secondary School, courtesy of the Redeemed Christian Church of God’s (RCCG’s) Christian Social Responsibility (CSR) projects in Ajah area of Lagos, said the commissioning is a testament of a credible partnership that works with the private sector.

In his words, “Today’s commissioning is not about me, not about the church, it is about the children, the community that will use the facilities. This is also a testament of how partnership can work. It is about understanding what governance is truly about. Governance is about giving opportunities to help people govern.”

“I want to reach out to other corporate organisations, religious bodies to use what the church has done today as a testimony for others to also identify what they can do in their community. It is not all about what government can do for the people, but what we can do to support government. We are not going to shy away from our responsibilities. Our main responsibility is to ensure that we provide security of lives and property for every citizen that is staying in our State,” he said.

According to him, “We must also give people the opportunity to do well, create a better future for our children. We are going to be very big in education and health and that is why when we see opportunities like this when the private sector is partnering with us, we will not shy away from it. We will make sure that every child that is of school age will be provided the opportunity to attend a school right next to them. We will continue to mark the State to ensure that schools are available, teachers are recruited.”

We will continue to do what is expected of us working with the private sectors, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations, and religious bodies to take real governance to the people.”

Earlier, the assistant Pastor-in-Charge, RCCG Region 20 and Pastor-in-Charge, Lagos Province 46, Pastor Kayode Pitan, said the projects worth over N180 million was aimed towards improved quality of living in the Ajah community.He said the projects include the rehabilitation of the Resettlement Community Primary Healthcare Centre, stocking the centre with drug supplies, and employment and remuneration of staff of the centre for one year; as well as the design and construction of 12 standard classroom blocks at the Resettlement Community Junior Secondary School, completed with the provision of furniture and modern teaching facilities, are the most recent in a long list of CSR projects embarked on by the church, which has made a long-standing commitment to support sustainable development projects in the community.

He noted that the current projects is coming on the heels of fruitful engagements with the host community and its leaders, as well as the leadership of the Eti-Osa Local Council Development Area to ensure that the projects selected are determined by the community in response to their pressing needs.

In his words, “The decision to build the school was in response to the lack of any public schools in the area, which made children have to travel considerable distances to attend school, exposing them to dangers like road accidents.”He also highlighted the church’s desire to partner with the Lagos State government to ensure access to education and healthcare in order to “stop the unnecessary loss of lives while also providing quality education for children in a safe and secure environment within their community”.He said these CSR investments stem from their continued resolve to be of service to humanity in general and their host community in particular.

“It is also driven by the mantra at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) to touch people’s lives, with emphasis on improving standards of living by providing good education and health through infrastructural development,” he said.