Stakeholders across sectors of the economy have proffered ways to supercharge the economy of Oyo State and give it a place of pride among states in the country.
The stakeholders drawn from ICT, healthcare, housing etc. converged on Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Thursday, for the Oyo-Ile Investors’ Forum to discuss ways to propel the economy of the state as well as to present investment opportunities to investors.
Declaring the forum open, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State reiterated that his administration has the aim of expanding “the economy of the state through the agriculture value chain, security, health and
education, for the purpose of socio-economic transformation of the state.”
Represented by Commissioner for Public Works and Transport, Prof. Dahud Sangodoyin, the governor said to actualise the economic goals, his administration is investing in infrastructural development.
On the increased nosedive of monthly allocation from the federal government and ongoing projects in the state, Makinde said the government decided to minimise risks, attract funds and use the alternative funding approach.
“Inventors come to us, we look at the risk and the completion rate and ask the investor to put down the money, give us moratorium of a given period when we will start paying until the completion of the project. It’s a win-win approach. This process ensures scientifically that the project will be completed,” Makinde said.
Making a presentation, the Chairman of the forum, Yinka Owodunni, said a number of infrastructural developments in the state has placed it rightly in a position to become the biggest economy in the southwest behind Lagos State.
The pieces of infrastructure include the rehabilitation and expansion of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, which he said would change the economy by about 250 per cent; the railway and dry inland port which is estimated to receive between 300,000 and one million containers; development of bus terminals and expansion of the Ibadan airport. These, he said, would attract more people, banks churches and mosques while creating opportunities for the development of about 55,000 housing units and thousands of direct and indirect jobs for youths.
In his presentation, the Chief Executive Officer of Engenious Limited, Mr Pade Durotoye, explained that adequate use of technology could help the state government maximize the potential of the state.
He said technology could be deployed in areas outside the immediate economic realm like policing, traffic management, project management and border surveillance. All these, he said, would help trigger the economic growth of the state.
For the CEO of Stratech Properties, Mr Moses Kolawole, the housing deficit in Nigeria, particularly in Oyo State presents a great investment opportunity. According to him, investment in the gap, which his firm is ready to delve into, would spur the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state and provide more employment opportunities.
Also speaking, the Executive Assistant to the Governor, Administration and General Services, Rev Idowu Ogedengbe, said the improvement noticed in the IGR of the state was due to the government’s dynamic handling of COVID-19 management in the state, noting that the state never locked down entirely and has continued to pay workers as and when due, including 13th-month salary, thereby improving their purchasing power.
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