The Lagos State Government is set to host President Muhammadu Buhari this week. A two-day trip scheduled for Monday, January 23 and Tuesday, January 24, 2023 would see Buhari make his first official visit to Lagos State since his re-election for a second term in 2019.
A historic visit this would be, no doubt, for a president who is already rounding off his eight-year tenure as he is expected to inaugurate some landmark projects in the state with his host, Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.
Sanwo-Olu, who is seeking a second term in office in the forthcoming governorship election in the state, is at the moment greatly excited to play host to the president and treat him to the hospitality the ”Centre of Excellence” is noted for.
A grand plan has already been put in place by the State Government for the inauguration of the landmark projects which are also being flaunted as iconic.
“Mr President is scheduled to arrive in Lagos on Monday, 23rd of January via the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, where he will be received by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, some top government officials and dignitaries,” the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, disclosed on Friday while addressing a joint news briefing.
Describing the president’s visit as ‘A Festival of Project Commissioning,’ Omotosho added: “There will be a short ceremony, which will include a cultural display, presentation of a bouquet and inspection of a guard of honour by the special guest.”
The Commissioner listed the landmark projects to be inaugurated by President Buhari to include the Lekki Deep Sea Port, which is the largest sea port in sub-Saharan Africa; the 32-metric tonne per-hour Lagos Rice Mill in Imota, one of the largest in the world and the 18.75-kilometre 6-lane rigid-pavement Eleko Junction to Epe Expressway.
The others, according to him, are the John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History in Surulere; the iconic Lagos Blue Line rail project in Marina and the MRS Lubricants facility in Apapa.
A busy schedule, of course, the trip would be for President Buhari and his host, Governor Sanwo-Olu, as the entourage is expected to criss-cross the state for the inauguration of the key projects that will surely turn the fortunes of the state around for better and benefit the residents the most.
We really commend the Lagos State Government for the commitment to seeing the landmark projects through as their completion has further strengthened the position of Lagos as the undisputed commercial capital of Nigeria. We also make bold to say that all the projects are a great leap forward that would greatly impact social and economic development of the state, as we salute the courage and determination of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu Administration to complete them in record time.
We believe that the inauguration of the projects by President Buhari will go a long way in spurring the State Government to take the others in the works headlong as it strives to give the state the much-desired facelift through infrastructural developments.
Lagos State really has the potential to grow faster that it is going, especially with the huge revenues at its disposal . The State Government must therefore continue to build on the goodwill it is currently enjoying both with the Federal Government and the corporate establishments operating in the state.
We also implore the National Assembly to consider putting in motion the process of granting Lagos a special status, with all the compliments, in order for the state to realise its full potential for the benefit of the residents and Nigerians as a whole.
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