Ogun to accelerate mobile penetration with MTN partnership

In a matter of one to two months, 20 local government areas in Ogun State will be home to mutual MTN sales point that will provide residents with the latest in mobile communication services.

Bimbo Ashiru, commissioner for commerce and industry, made this disclosure to BusinessDay in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.

According to Ashiru, the partnership is in line with the state government’s efforts to make Ogun the preferred destination for businesses.

“What we did is to take advantage, that we are now seen as an alternative not an option. Someone can say that if Lagos State cannot solve my problem then I will go to Ogun State, and I will be welcomed there. We are ensuring that all the universities are now coming to Ogun State.

“We are making sure that we look into their problem and solve it for them as at when due. The most important thing for any business to thrive is to make sure there is manpower; there is security and power. For security of lives and properties, we have been able to provide that and it has helped the businesses to grow,” Ashiru said.

Many businesses are increasingly looking towards the state, Ashiru said; therefore the state government is increasingly implementing new strategies to make things easier for them.

“What we have been able to do is to create that environment where business can thrive. And let me tell you, when we started, the state was rated number 35 in Nigeria in terms of doing business, but I am happy to tell you that I was one of the people that laid the proper strategy and now we are rated one of the first five in Nigeria.

“The state is rated as an industry hub. We have created that environment for people to do business, thereby you do not need to know the governor or commissioner. We have introduced a one-stop shop that takes care of all the needs of the people,” Ashiru said.

The commissioner also said the government was aware of the potential of developing human capital, particularly for the youths in Ogun State. Hence, the government has embarked on different entrepreneurship programmes to develop the capacity of the young people in the state.

As a result of these programmes, “The young people are now managers of their own businesses, they are employers of labour and they are into different vocations like IT. In the next one or two months, we are partnering with MTN,” Ashiru said.