‘Lagos biggest beneficiary of Nigeria-British £7 billion trade’

Being Nigeria’s economic capital, Lagos remains the biggest beneficiary of Nigeria and Britain’s trade volumes which currently stand at £7 billion, according to Akinwumi Ambode, Lagos State governor.

Ambode said this at the inauguration of Dapo Adelegan, who replaced Adeyemi Adefulu as the president of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC).

Ambode, who was represented by Oluranti Adebule, deputy governor, also called for strong business relations with the NBCC, describing Lagos as the biggest beneficiary of the chamber’s contributions to trade relations between Nigeria and Britain.

“There’s no gainsaying that Lagos is the biggest beneficiary of these efforts with the volume of investments that are located in the state,” Ambode said.

He said the rising profile of the state as one of the fastest growing cities in the world is among the positive results of bilateral relations led by NBCC, stressing that the chamber has contributed immensely in increasing trade volumes between Nigeria and Britain from £4 billion in 2010 to over £7 billion in 2012.

He noted that his government has, in the past few months, concentrated on improving infrastructure and strengthening the capacity of security operatives to create an enabling environment for investors.

In his remarks, Dapo Adelegan appreciated Governor Ambode for his interest in the activities of the chamber, saying that the chamber is committed to partnering the government to make Lagos a mega city that the world will be proud of.

Adelegan, who is also the chairman of Celtron Group, expressed the commitment of the chamber to fostering trade relations between Nigeria and the United Kingdom, adding that the recent trade mission to the UK is in line with determination of the chamber to strengthen the capacity of the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) to tap into the opportunities in the British market.

The NBCC boss said the chamber is committed to changing the negative perception of Nigeria in Britain through relevant platforms, stressing that it will support its members in archiving their aspirations in the United Kingdom while providing access for British businesses in the Nigerian market. He cited the opening of an office in Abuja as a platform to make the chamber accessible to stakeholders.

 

ODINAKA ANUDU