The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has proposed a six-state development alliance to address the infrastructure, investment and planning challenges that cut across Lagos and the wider South-West region.

Under the proposal, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti would work through a joint development and investment compact to coordinate transport links, industrial growth, urban expansion and environmental protection.

Bamidele presented the idea yesterday at the Lagos Physical Planning Summit at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, saying that the region’s economic future depends on closer cooperation among its states.

He said Lagos State could not plan effectively in isolation because its economy was deeply connected to neighbouring states through housing, labour, agriculture, manufacturing, logistics and trade.

However, the proposed compact would bring state governments together with relevant federal agencies, infrastructure bodies, private investors, professional organisations and development partners to identify shared priorities and mobilise funding for projects that benefit the region.

The Senate Leader said the framework should focus on integrated transport networks, cross-border urban development, industrial corridors, power infrastructure, tourism and coordinated investment promotion.

He said that better alignment of state development plans would help to ensure that infrastructure and economic projects were not pursued as disconnected initiatives.

Bamidele also urged Lagos State to make digital infrastructure a central part of its development strategy by expanding broadband access, smart-city systems, digital public services and innovation hubs.

He said investment in technology-driven enterprises must be matched with efforts to equip workers with the digital skills needed to participate in the changing economy.

“Lagos’ long-term prosperity cannot be secured through isolated state planning alone,” Bamidele said, stressing the need to connect physical planning with economic development and infrastructure spending with measurable public benefits.

He said successful implementation would depend on effective institutions, transparent financing, predictable regulations and sustained cooperation among government, the private sector and communities.

Bamidele said the goal should be to move beyond development plans on paper to coordinated projects capable of delivering economic growth, social welfare and environmental resilience across the South-West.

Bamidele asked the Lagos State Government to develop a spatial development and investment compact to coordinate cross-border infrastructure, regional economic corridors, environmental resilience, and investment opportunities in the South-west

He also urged the state government “to move from planning as a governmental activity to planning as a coordinated system for delivering economic value, social welfare, environmental resilience and regional prosperity.”

“Lagos’ long-term prosperity cannot be secured through isolated state planning alone. Its economy is closely connected to neighbouring states through shared boundaries, labour markets, housing, agriculture, manufacturing, transportation logistics, trade and environmental systems, he stated.

He, therefore, proposed the development of a Lagos-to-South-West Spatial Development and Investment Compact as a practical framework for coordinating cross-border infrastructure, regional economic corridors, environmental resilience and investment opportunities.

He said that the establishment of the Lagos-Southwest Spatial Development and Investment Compact would serve as a platform through which Lagos and willing partner states could coordinate regional planning, identify shared infrastructure priorities, and mobilise investments for projects that deliver benefits across state boundaries.