Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu says his government is taking critical measures to encourage new investments and existing businesses in the state.
Part of the measures, according to Sanwo-Olu, include fast-tracking of business registration and contract as well as creation of a competitive and profitable environment.
“We are also improving on titles around assets we give out, such as land. We are also making resources available to strengthen the judiciary and legislature in order to support our drive at promoting transparency in business,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu spoke at the Turkey-Nigeria Business Roundtable held at Eko Hotels and Suites in Victoria Island, saying his administration was open and willing to partner with investors in any sector of interest.
He said he was also committed to leveraging Public Private Partnership (PPP) to scale up investments in critical sectors of the state economy. The objective, he said, is to create profitable business environment for private investments in the state.
“I am using this opportunity to assure prospective investors that there will be continuous improvements in the business environment to encourage constant flow of capital and returns on investments. One of the moves is continuous review of our PPP policy.
“This decision will give investors the confidence on our readiness and allow them to see opportunities to apply their capital. We have the free trade zone, which is about the biggest commercial avenue in the country; it hosts the Dangote refinery, which will be about the biggest refinery in Africa,” said Sanwo-Olu told the businessmen.
He said beyond the two main federally owned seaports in Lagos, the state government is working on additional ports in Lekki and Badagry to fast-track movement of goods to the international market.
The governor further hinted that Lagos had maintained a booming market, given its population size. This, he said, should form the basis of investors’ decision in applying their capital towards investments in all sectors of the economy.
“In making effort to ease establishment of businesses, we discovered time is a key factor that can encourage businessmen to invest their capital in the state. We realised we needed a formidable legislation to address administrative bottleneck, thereby reducing the time of business registration and contract.
“The faster the time a title is issued on an asset, the quicker the returns on the investment. We are also making resources available to strengthen the judiciary and legislature in order to support our drive at promoting transparency in business,” he said.
Head of the Turkey-Nigeria Business Council’s delegation, Haken Ozel, said the meeting was aimed at expanding business opportunities and deepening the relationship between Turkey and Lagos.
Parts of the areas of partnership with Lagos, Ozel said, included food security and agriculture, energy, tourism, rail and water transportation.
JOSHUA BASSEY
