South-West Commission to integrate physical planning to boost regional economic growth

The South West Development Commission (SWDC) has outlined plans to drive massive infrastructure development, industrialisation, and socio-economic growth across the six South-West states through a coordinated approach to physical planning, urban development, and land governance.

Chairman of the Commission, Olubunmi Adetunmbi, said the region presents both immense opportunities and formidable challenges, stressing the need for concerted efforts to help states adapt to demographic shifts, economic uncertainties, and climate threats while promoting inclusive growth.

He noted that achieving the vision would require a combination of smart governance, resilient infrastructure, and regional collaboration.

According to him, embracing sustainable planning, technological innovation, and social inclusion would pave the way for a more resilient and equitable urban future.

The Managing Director of the Commission, Dr Charles Akinola, said the SWDC was established to drive growth and improve living conditions across Nigeria’s South-West region.

He added that the Commission is focused on developing infrastructure, reducing poverty, creating jobs, and supporting key projects that better integrate the six states.

Speaking on the topic, “Case for Regional Integration: Accepting Lessons from the Past as Guide for the Future,” a two-term Rector of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, Waheed Kadiri, who is also a former President of the Nigerian Institution of Town Planners, said making a case for regional integration in the South-West is not entirely new, but the key issue is how to implement it more effectively and efficiently.

He said: “Integration, within the context of this discourse, means the process of combining different spatial areas or sub-regions and their attributes to create a more cohesive and connected whole. The purpose will be the promotion of balanced development, reduction of disparities, and enhancement of development.

“The argument can be about whether we can use the same tools needed to influence development in the Western Region to integrate the six states today. One thing that is, however, obvious over the years is the past efforts to make ‘life more abundant’ for the people within the geopolitical zone. The position of this presentation is to look at past efforts, examine how successful they were, what was responsible for the limited success achieved, and determine the lessons that can be learnt from them.”

Kadiri maintained that although the acquired territories are now within Lagos State, most of the development, industrial, and housing areas are owned by the states that made up the old Western State through a special purpose vehicle, Odu’a Investment Company Limited, which is now jointly owned by the six states.

He explained that before the creation of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, there was the Western Nigeria Development Corporation, which operated from 1949 to 1962 and played a key role in the region’s development strategy, with investments in agriculture and industry.

It was established to drive economic growth and improve the quality of life in Western Nigeria by fostering industrialisation and enhancing social welfare.

Also contributing, Lagos State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Oluyinka Olumide, said the gathering reflects a shared commitment to building a stronger, better-planned, and more prosperous South-West.

He said: “It is a direct follow-through from the maiden Lagos Physical Planning Summit of 2024, themed ‘Rethinking Lagos: A New Vision for a Regional and Integrated Megacity.’ One clear recommendation from that summit was the need to deepen regional integration and inter-state collaboration as the pathway to sustainable development. This meeting is our response—an action-oriented step to build a framework for coordinated planning and regional development across the South-West.

“Accelerating urban expansion, infrastructure deficits, housing shortages, insecurity pressures, and the increasing complexity of managing growth corridors that connect one state to another cannot be effectively addressed by any single state acting alone. They demand coordinated thinking, institutional cooperation, shared standards, and a common regional vision.”

Olumide noted that the inaugural meeting represents a deliberate and forward-looking step towards strengthening collaboration in physical planning, urban development, and sustainable land governance.

According to him, it opens a new chapter of structured engagement grounded in mutual understanding, shared priorities, and collective responsibility.

He highlighted the need to explore shared regional solutions for waste management, including the possibility of a properly planned refuse site serving more than one state. He also emphasised strengthening rail and multimodal transportation networks to connect the entire South-West as one integrated economic space, leveraging industrial hubs in Ogun State, and aligning them with regional logistics and mobility planning.

He further stressed the importance of optimising Lagos’ strategic role as an agricultural storage and distribution hub, including emerging potentials in areas such as Epe, to support regional food systems and value chains.

Also speaking, Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tunji Odunlami, said the idea behind the Commission is to develop the different states and integrate them into a functional regional community.

He said his state, for instance, plans to close down Kara Market and redevelop it in line with its status as a border town.

He lamented that some satellite towns create developmental challenges by building houses in a haphazard manner without regard to town planning rules and regulations.

Odunlami added that the state is in the process of building schools, hospitals, and health centres that will be incorporated into the South-West regional development.