Lagos – Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State says no state can survive on its own, hence their leaders must seek to discover possible areas of partnership that would improve the nation’s economic fortunes.
Ambode spoke when he received the Kano State governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje at the Lagos House, Alausa on Tuesday.
He said: “What is most important right now is how do we take on our comparative advantage to the betterment of our people?
“We must start to think about the re-integration of most of the economic activities and advantages that each state has.”
Ambode said that Lagos and Kano shared many similarities considering their mega city status and stood to benefit from each other.
He said such partnership would help in tackling the challenges confronting them and enhance their economic productivity.
“We pride ourselves as the largest consumer of agro products in the country.
“We intend also to reactivate some of our furniture factories and also be able to do locally made furniture.
“All we need to do is to get the expertise to turn the hides and skin to become the best leather of the world and that will create employment for the people of Kano and Lagos alike,” he said.
Ambode said that Lagos also provides a ready market for agro products as it was the largest consumer of agricultural products in Nigeria.
Ganduje, on his part, said he was in Lagos to learn from the strides of Ambode, especially in the area of fighting crime and infrastructure development.
According to him, Kano State, being the commercial nerve centre of Northern Nigeria, is leading from the front to revive the agricultural sector, especially in the area of livestock farming.
Ganduje said that the state was one of the largest producers of hides and skin used in making leather.
He said with the present problem of herdsmen, Kano state was providing grazing areas in order to improve their socio- economic well being.
The governor said there were several areas in which Lagos and Kano could come together to cooperate. (NAN)