Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has said that his administration has intensified efforts to provide basic infrastructure and create a conducive business environment, noting that more industries have flocked to the state in six years than in previous administrations.
The state, Abiodun noted, is one of the six states where Special Agro Processing Zones were created in the country in collaboration with the Federal Government, African Development Bank, African Export-Import Bank, and Islamic Bank, adding that his administration decided to partner with private sector players for the prompt take-off of the zone.
Abiodun stated this while receiving the Distinguished Visionary Leadership Award by the Foreign Investment Network (FIN) for his unique leadership style and untiring efforts in opening up more business frontiers in the state at his office in Oke Mosan, Abeokuta.
Speaking on the steps taken to promote the ease of doing business in the state, the governor said that apart from establishing a Business Environment Council to act in collaboration with the State Investment and Facilitation Agency as a one-stop shop, tax payment has been computerized to eliminate multiple taxation.
He said: “This administration has improved the transportation sector by constructing over 1,200 kilometers of roads in six years. We have built the best-equipped airport in Nigeria, and this airport is centrally located.
“We have adopted a multimodal transport system that incorporates air, road, sea, and rail lines. We are extending a rail line that stopped at Agbado to Ogun State,” he said.
The state, Governor Abiodun further explained, is blessed with a large population and natural resources, and it is strategically located to take advantage of the biggest market in the country. He disclosed that the government is working to ensure that the state has the cheapest electricity for industries and the people.
While calling on investors to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that abound in agriculture, power generation, manufacturing, and other sectors, the state helmsman urged the Foreign Investment Network (FIN) to intensify efforts in showcasing the state’s potential to the outside world and assured that the organization would be involved in planning the proposed State Economic Summit to make it a grand event.
Earlier, while presenting the Distinguished Visionary Leadership Award to the governor when she led a business delegation to the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the Chairperson of the organization, Dr. Olayinka Fayomi, said the state had witnessed tremendous economic development in the last six years of the administration.
She said: “The governor has done well. Two years ago when we saw what the governor had accomplished, we decided to promote him further. This award is to acknowledge his efforts in expanding business frontiers in the state.
“Investors outside are noting what Ogun is doing, especially in health, education, agriculture, and infrastructure. The governor has made the state a significant business destination. We are attending a business summit in Oman, where we will present the business opportunities that exist in Ogun State.”
Fayomi noted that apart from promoting and facilitating investments in African countries, especially Nigeria, over the last 45 years, her organization is also involved in magazine publication in English, French, and Chinese, to expose business opportunities on the continent to the outside world.
Responding, Governor Abiodun expressed appreciation to the Chairperson of FIN for the award, emphasizing that it was an indication that the modest efforts of the administration in developing the state are being recognized, and he called on the organization to continue to attract more investors to come and do business in the country.