The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has called on foreign investors to make the state especially the Special Economic Processing Zone the destination of choice while considering investing in Nigeria.
Governor Abiodun, while speaking as a guest on CNBC Africa at the weekend on the sidelines of the Intra-African Trade Fair, put together by Afreximbank, in Cairo, Egypt, said Ogun State has put everything in place to host any business venture.
He noted that the State has the required infrastructure, including accessibility to power, a youthful and educated population to make it investor-friendly.
Describing the state as the gateway to Nigeria’s prosperity , the governor maintained that the state remains the industrial capital of Nigeria with over 5,000 industries being regarded as the number one in non-oil revenue in Nigeria with large mineral deposits, especially limestone stressing that the presence of Danhote and Lafarge cement factories in the state atrest to the high deposit of limestone in the state
The governor reaffirmed that the state’s agro cargo airport situated on Special Economic Processing Zone is being supported by Afreximbank and operated and constructed by a private sector player called Arise LLP.
He urged the foreign investors to come to the zone to establish processing companies and factories noting that companies coming to invest in the state would take advantage of its vast agro produce like rubber, cassava in which the state is the number one producer in the world, palm oil, cashew, cocoa, cotton, eggs and poultry.
Speaking on the significance of the African Quality Assurance Centre (AQAC) sited at the Special Economic Processing Zone, the first citizen of the gateway state is bound to make Nigeria get value for her agro-produce.
Prince Abiodun noted that Nigeria, before now, was sending her agro-produce meant for export to neighbouring countries like Ghana to be certified as fit-for-purpose stating that with AQAC in the State, and within the agro-processing zone agro-produce from the country can now be certified fit-for-purpose in line with world best practices.
