By Adedapo Adesanya
The Ogun State Government has said that it would continue to collaborate with donor agencies and other private organisations to foster economic growth and enhance the living standards of its people.
This was made by the state’s Commissioner for Finance, Mr Dapo Okubadejo, on Wednesday in Abeokuta at a meeting with the officials of the African Export-Import Bank (Afrexibank), led by Mr Eric Intogin, its new Regional Chief Operating Officer, Anglophone West- Africa.
Mr Okubadejo recalled that the state government recently passed the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) law and also set up a complimentary office.
He explained that the measure was informed by the need to seamlessly drive partnership and ease the process of doing business in the state.
The Commissioner explained that the development of various economic clusters as well as the proposed agro-cargo airport, deep seaport and the special agro-processing zones in the state were parts of efforts by the government to entrench Ogun as investors’ destination of choice in the country.
Mr Okubadejo then emphasised the importance of the Afreximbank in the overall economic growth of the African region, noting that, “Ogun is critical to the development of Nigeria due to its location and size.”
“Ogun is very key to the objectives of Afreximbank because we are the leading manufacturing and industrial hub of Nigeria by virtue of our size.
“Being the centre of industrialisation in Nigeria, it is important that we look for worthy partners to fast track the process of economic development of our state which the Dapo Abiodun–led administration had embarked upon,” he said.
In her remarks, the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, appreciated the bank for its contributions to the state health sector and requested increased collaborations with the state for the overall wellbeing of the people.
Mr Abdoulaye Kone, the out-going Regional Chief Operating Officer of Afrexibank, in his remarks, expressed the organisation’s readiness to continue to partner with the state in areas of transport, health and other sectors.
Modupe Gbadeyanka