Ambode, Aregbesola renew calls for regional integration

The Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode and his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola, yesterday renewed their calls for the integration of the Southwest region.

A statement by Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Semiu Okanlawon, said the governors made the calls when Ambode paid a courtesy call on Aregbesola in Osogbo, the state capital.

Ambode, who was impressed at the level of development in Osun State, in spite the paucity of funds, promised his administration’s support for Aregbesola in ensuring that his government succeeds.

He said time had come for the region to fully exploit its potential by supporting what Aregbesola has been championing since the beginning of his administration.He noted that Lagos was fully committed to the regional integration of the Southwest for its economic potential to be fully harnessed and sustained.

Ambode added that the time was right for well-meaning people of the region to rally round and ensure that the Southwest realises its economic potential and become independent of other regions.

“We have an historic duty to join Aregbesola in championing what he has been clamouring for, which is the integration of the Southwest. I fully commit myself to the integration of the Southwest because I believe it is the only way the region can fully explore its potentials for the benefit of all.

I can assure you that the Southwest has all it takes to stand alone and survive without having to depend on any external means of funding,” he said.Ambode highlighted Aregbesola’s developmental strides in Osun, saying the governor has laid unprecedented development structures for the state.

Speaking, Aregbesola said any move for development in the Southwest without regional integration was like a child’s play compared to the kind of development the region would experience if it fully integrates.  

He stated that the call for regional integration must be taken beyond mere rhetorics, stressing that all the Southwest governors must work towards actualising it before the end of their tenures. 

The Osun governor said the only state that can survive on its own was Lagos, which he said, was not too good because other states in the region would be dependent on Lagos if that happens.He said it is in the interest of Lagos and other states in the South West to clamour for the regional integration in all aspects of life.