Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, has urged the Lagos State Government to establish a regional development and investment compact to coordinate infrastructure, economic corridors and investment opportunities across the Southwest.
Bamidele made the call on Thursday while delivering a keynote address at the Lagos Physical Planning Summit held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island.
Lagos is a major commercial hub in Nigeria, with economic and transport links extending into neighbouring Ogun State and other parts of the Southwest.
The movement of workers, goods and services across state boundaries makes coordination in transportation, housing, industrial development and environmental management important to regional growth.
He said Lagos needed to move beyond treating physical planning as a government activity and adopt a coordinated approach that delivers economic growth, social welfare, environmental sustainability and regional prosperity.
According to him, achieving this transition would require a change in mindset, stronger institutions, a reorganisation of investment priorities and closer alignment between development plans and implementation.
“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 said.
Bamidele proposed a Lagos-Southwest Spatial Development and Investment Compact to enable Lagos and participating states to coordinate regional planning, identify shared infrastructure needs and mobilise investment for projects that benefit communities across state boundaries.
He said the proposed framework should involve Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states, alongside relevant federal institutions, planning authorities, infrastructure agencies, private-sector organisations, professional bodies and development partners.
He added that the initiative should prioritise regional transport networks, complementary economic corridors, cross-border urban planning, environmental resilience and investment mobilisation.
The Senate leader also urged Lagos to take advantage of digital technology by expanding broadband infrastructure, smart-city systems, digital services, innovation hubs and technology-driven businesses.
He stressed the need to equip the workforce with relevant digital skills to support the state’s development ambitions.
Bamidele said the future of Lagos would depend not only on the quality of its development plans but also on how effectively they were funded, coordinated and implemented.
“We must connect physical planning to economic development, infrastructure investment to measurable public benefits, digital innovation to effective governance, and state-level priorities to regional cooperation.
“This requires capable institutions, predictable regulations, transparent financing, responsible investment, and sustained collaboration among government, the private sector, professional institutions, communities and development partners,” he said.