The Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, has said that he wanted the State to effectively run without monthly allocation from the Federation Account and to become one of the fastest rising economic States in the country.
Governor Makinde spoke at the Oyo State International Business Summit (OYSIBS 2023) with the theme, “Accessing the Pioneer Advantage to Sustainable Investment in Oyo State” in London, United Kingdom, on Friday.
The governor while speaking to LEADERSHIP said he wanted Oyo State to stop monthly trip to the nation’s capital to beg for financial aid from the federal government while calling on the international corporate world and individuals to invest in the Southwestern State of Nigeria.
“What we are doing here today is to bring in key actors in agribusiness, solid minerals and mining, tourism, sustainable energy, and infrastructure sectors, to discuss the investment opportunities in these areas through private investment ventures, public private partnership (PPP) and public-private-development partnership (PPDP) model in our Oyo State.
“We want to stop the monthly trip to Abuja for federal allocations, we want Oyo State to be a state that can run with zero federal allocation, so that is the main reason for the summit. I am excited about the people and to see a lot of potential and the energy in the room, I am very sure we will harness it.
“We have linked all the major zones in Oyo State with a viable road network and have invested heavily in security to ensure that you are safe wherever you choose to locate your business within the borders of Oyo State. This has led to us growing our economy from N2.75trillion in 2019 to N4.05 trillion as of Q3 2022 without increasing taxes. In the same period, we increased our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by over 90%,” Makinde explained.
On his part, the Nigerian High Commissioner to United Kingdom, Ambassador Sarafa Tunji Isola, in a chat with LEADERSHIP, said the summit has further encouraged economic diplomacy and British investment in Nigeria while encouraging investors to key into Governor Makinde’s vision.
“This summit has helped in our economic diplomacy to ensure we have British investment in Nigeria and to encourage Nigerian businessmen to export to United Kingdom. Within the context of what Oyo State has to offer in terms of agribusiness, solid minerals, ICT and other infrastructure projects, investors will have the opportunity to know what Oyo State stands for, and of particular interest is the governor who has a private sector background which is key to investors, and with what has been presented, I have no doubt in my mind that they are ready for industrial investment and economic development,” Amb Ishola stated.
Also speaking, Nigeria’s House of Representatives member-elect to represent Ogbomoso North, Ogbomoso South and Orire federal constituency of Oyo State, Hon. Olamiju Akala, said that the State has created an enabling environment with a vibrant young workforce, which promises to give investors value for their investment.
“Oyo State is still a virgin land, we need investors to come and partner with the state government, this summit will impact the people of Oyo state when investors come into the state. I am sure that the investors who are here today have been convinced about the good ill in the state. When they take the step to invest in us, they will surely get value for their investment because we occupy about 28,454 km² of land and the major population are the young who make up the workforce,” Akala added.
