Economy
GOV. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State says that private capital is essential to ensure environmental sustainability in any state.
Sanwo-Olu said this on Friday at the official launch of the Financial Centre for Sustainability, Lagos (FC4S Lagos).
He said that for Lagos to survive and thrive, environmental issues must be taken seriously.
According to him, Lagos is a city that combines exploding population with very limited landmass, which puts the resources – land, water, among others in a very precarious shape.
He said that there was also the need to deal with the large amounts of domestic, commercial and industrial wastes generated daily across the city; otherwise the residents would face the risk of being over-run by waste.
The governor said that as a coastal city, on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, the state was at the mercy of rising sea levels.
He said that the traffic situation meant that the population was at the mercy of unchecked levels of emissions arising from the largest concentration of automobiles in Nigeria.
“While all of these issues I have outlined are huge challenges, we must also consider the fact that they present huge opportunities for innovative ways of dealing with our environmental hazards, which must first be seen, and then seized.
“The massive amounts of waste we generate represent huge potential for the recycling industry, and even for power generation.
“So, there are huge opportunities everywhere. But to convert these opportunities to manifest reality, great amounts of investment are needed, especially, from the private sector.
“Public funding can barely scratch the surface, in terms of what is needed. Private capital is very much needed, and indeed is the only resource that can make the needed difference’’, Sanwo-Olu said.
He commended the vision and the convening efforts of FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, under the leadership of Mr Bola Onadele, without which, he said, the FC4S Lagos would not have been in existence.
FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange (FMDQ) is an organisation with the strategic intent of bringing about revolutionary changes and fostering the development of the Nigerian financial markets.
According to him, establishing the Centre shows the credibility and prestige that has earned its admission into the International Network of Financial Centres for Sustainability, as the 23rd member of the network.
Earlier, Mr Bola Onadele, Chairman of the Governing Board, Financial Center for Sustainability, Lagos, said that infrastructure development was at the heart of sustainable environment.
Onadele urged the citizens to imbibe the habit of sustainable environment.
Mrs Mary Uduk, Acting Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said that the centre would help in addressing the challenges of financing the development of sustainable infrastructure in Nigeria.
Uduk said that sustainable finance was any form of financial service, integrating environmental, social and governance criteria into the business of investment decisions, for the lasting benefit of both clients and the society at large. (NAN)
– Oct. 4, 2019 @ 18:25 GMT |
Tags: Lagos State harps on private capital for environmental sustainability
