Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun state has called for partnership with the United States of America in developing the critical sectors in the state’s economy.
While receiving Will Stevens, consul general at the U.S. Consulate General in Lagos, at Oke-Mosan Abeokuta on Wednesday, Abiodun said the state considers the U.S. as a progressive partner in the areas of the economy, good governance, security, climate change and human capital development around the world.
“The state’s strategic location as the primary gateway to Lagos has contributed to its status as the industrial hub of Nigeria. Our state is home to one of the largest industrial zones in Sub-Saharan Africa, which includes the 8,000 hectares OPIC-owned Agbara industrial estate,” he said in a statement.
He added that the estate accommodates the Federal Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone, with 44 operational companies, factory tenants from across the world, with over 6,000 Nigerian employees and an estimated 100,000 metric tons of freight moving in and out daily.
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According to the governor, his administration since 2019, assembled a team made up of highly resourceful technocrats and cerebral policy architects and conceptualised a transformational philosophy coined ‘ISEYA’, which is an acronym for Infrastructural Development, Social Welfare and Well-being, Education and Human Capital Development, Youth Empowerment and Agriculture and Food Security.
“Through this concept, we have strategically transformed the state with modern infrastructure, deliberate policy steps to attract businesses and moving the economy from being federal allocation focused to becoming the state with the third largest Internally Generated Revenue in the country,” he said.
Stevens noted that health remains the number one investment in Nigeria as the US government is in the health sector to help the country reach the 95-95-95 goals of ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“It is my job to promote US trade and investment here in certain parts of Nigeria. I had a great conversation with the governor about the incredible investment the US companies are already making in the state as well as opportunities for increased US trade and investment,” he said.
He added that there are incredible opportunities to find jobs and opportunities for Nigerian youths to participate in the tax sector.
“We’ve seen the explosion of growth and investment in that sector throughout Nigeria, particularly in the South West.”
The governor appreciated the US government for its firm stance on democratic governance, specifically on the sanctity of the electoral process as well as supporting different reforms in the electoral process and taking an uncompromising position on electoral offenders.
