Middle East Electricity & Solar 2017

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AFRICA FOCUS
Nigeria: Lagos State
aim to become the
3rd Largest Economy
in Africa
In 2016, Lagos State was emerged as the fifth largest
economy in Africa, consequent upon which,
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, disclosed that his
administration is in the process of setting up an
Economic Management Team (EMT), comprising
distinguished individuals from the private sector and
the public sector to manage the economy efficiently.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode,
spoke at the Christmas Eve Dance organised by the
Yoruba Tennis Club, Onikan, said that one of his
administration’s objectives is to make the State from
being the fifth to become the third largest economy in
Africa.
Governor Ambode remains committed to making the
State globally competitive, adding that by virtue of its
indices, Lagos has become a major City-State in the
world.
Governor Ambode also stated that Lagos is currently
home to 65 percent of Nigeria’s businesses, with a
presence of over 2,000 manufacturing companies,
200 financial institutions and the largest collection of
small and medium enterprises in Africa.
The Governor added that with an estimated
population of about 24 million people, over 15.2
million are within the ages of 15-64 years, which
positions the State as having the largest share of
working population in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Lagos is Africa’s fastest growing market and still the
5th largest economy in Africa with a GDP of
$91billion. The drop in its GDP value from
$131billion is as a result of the fluctuation in Foreign
Exchange but the ultimate goal is to grow its GDP to
move from 5th to 3rd largest in Africa, Governor
Ambode said. The Governor said 2017 will witness
the commencement and completion
of critical infrastructure that will create new
economies in the State, facilitate growth and propel
the State economy to enviable heights. The
Government has also improved on the
Capital/Recurrent Expenditure Ratio in the 2017
budget with 63:37 compared to 58:42 in the 2016
budget. The Government has also identified tourism
as a key component of its plan to diversify the State’s
economy, saying that over N20billion was earmarked
for tourism initiatives in the 2017 budget, just as it
was disclosed that Badagry, Lagos Island and Epe
are tourism hubs that would be developed to make
Lagos one of the foremost tourism destinations in
Africa.
Nigeria and Morocco’s Collaboration Creates Enormous
Economic Benefits for West Africa
Following the recent visit of the Moroccan
Monarchy to Nigeria, a new regional Trans-
African Pipeline has been announced to
connect the two countries and improve
energy access across the region. This joint
effort to establish strong economic
collaboration sets the scene for a more
interconnected West Africa which can
address the real energy needs of the
population.
This commitment by two of Africa’s largest
economies represents one of the numerous
collaborations between Morocco and Nigeria
aiming to accelerate the electrification of
projects and encourage an increasingly
competitive regional energy market.
The recently concluded Africa Renewable
Energy Forum (ARF) in Marrakech, the
Ministry of Energy and Moroccan companies
such as Masen, ONEE, OCP, IRESEN and
Attijariwafa Bank highlighted their
engagement to push forward the Moroccan’s
South-South Co-operation strategy.
The historical visit of Morocco’s Monarch to
Nigeria highlighted the significance of the
discussion between the two countries
surrounding the construction of a gigantic
pipeline, dubbed the Trans-African Pipeline.
This joint effort to establish a strong
economic collaboration paves the way to
achieve the regional integration that is
critical to addressing the real needs of
Africans. The Trans-African Pipeline and
other projects, such as the one aiming at
developing a fertilizer production platform in
Nigeria, are undoubtedly strategic initiatives
with a strong South-South footprint that
reflect the emerging partnership between the
two continental powers. Commenting on this
south-south policy and the potential
economic benefit resulting from the
cooperation, the Swiss economist Jean-Marc
Maillard offered this perspective:
The pipeline serves multiple commercial and
economic ends and the prospect of helping
the countries of the region accelerate
electrification projects sheds light on its
strategic aim. Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are
already two producers and consumers of this
energy source. Recent discoveries of large
gas deposits in Senegal and Niger, as well as
the upcoming exploitation of new discoveries
in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, point to a
promising future for this long-awaited gas
pipeline project. The Moroccan-Nigerian
partnership paves the way for the supply of
energy to the countries via the future 4,000-
kilometer pipeline. This gigantic project
between the Gulf of Guinea and Morocco
could also extend to Europe. Morocco’s
specific contribution will be to the
development of integrated industrial poles in
the sub region in sectors such as industry,
agro-business and fertilizers in order to attract
foreign capital.
According to analysts, the main focus will be on improving the competitive nature
of exports and stimulating local exploitation of natural resources available for
domestic and international markets. The greater aim of this south-south
cooperation is to bring about ventures which will position the whole area along the
path toward stronger growth, taking advantage of complementary and sustainable
synergies based on inclusive approaches. This vision translates the Sovereign’s
active, cohesive and integrated strategy towards Africa, which adopts a mutually
beneficial economic model and strives to improve the living conditions of Africans.
The partnership in hydrocarbons represents just one of the numerous
collaborations between Morocco and Nigeria in connection to training, investment,
mining, skills development, tourism, finance, Insurance and logistics.
Undoubtedly, Morocco’s Monarch has validated the south-south collaboration
whose is to restore hope to the African peoples.