Lola Oyewo
Even as Nigeria wanders is faced with an uncertain budget year, Lagos is poised to re-assert itself as a country within a country.
Indeed, if what the state Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has just said is anything to go by, it is a prospering country in a retrogressing nation.
While the Ambode administration has always measured its status in terms of being Africa’s sixth largest economy, the governor said the state’s GDP is now $136bn.
According to him, it will grow by 4% in 2019.
Speaking at the Island Club and Yoruba Tennis Club gatherings during Yuletide, Ambode quoted the International Monetary Fund and popular economic platform, Bloomberg, to support his account.
He said, “With its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) currently standing at $136 billion, Lagos economy will record four per cent growth in 2019, while the national economy will grow by 2.8 per cent, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has predicted.
“According to the IMF, the Nigeria GDP will grow from 1.9 per cent in 2018 to 2.8 per cent in 2019. Lagos on a stand-alone basis will achieve over four per cent growth in GDP. By implication, this could be more if the congestion at the port and the negative effect this has on the economy is addressed.
“Three and a half years down the line, our state has progressed in all sectors of the economy. We have charted a clear path to the destination we have all dreamt about and desired.
‘Today, our Lagos has become more globally competitive and strategically positioned among the major city-states of the world. Our state has become a top destination for business and tourism and it can only get better
“We have undertaken projects in all sectors of the economy with the sole intention of making life better for our people. All of these and similar initiatives were made possible by the personal taxes of high net worth residents of our state represented at this gathering which account for a significant percentage of our IGR. I want to use this opportunity to thank you so much for providing the resources, which have empowered us to make a positive difference in the lives of all citizens of our state.”
