SAN FRANCISCO, March 17, (THEWILL) – Ademola Abass, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Overseas Affairs and Investment has revealed that investments worth N5 billion have been attracted into the state in the last three months.
According to Abass, the state got over 50 percent of the total investments in the country in the last 3 months and assured that more strategies would be employed to make Lagos an investment haven.
At a program designed to get Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to support the vision of the government in foreign direct investments (FDI), Abass disclosed that the state government was looking beyond land transportation as a major means of transportation but is willing to explore water transportation with a view to seek more foreign investors in that regard.
“With the dwindling oil revenues from the federation account, there is need for the state to re-double efforts in revenues and investments. The focus on this investment is agricultural, health, infrastructure,” he said.
“This calls for the need for the state to look inwards and develop the state’s agricultural sector, health infrastructure to discourage overseas travelling for medical attention.
“We have received proposals in hundreds. The most important is that there is a huge interest in investing in Lagos.
“We are actually telling our investors to look at the unique opportunities that Lagos has to offer in terms of population of 22 million, almost 5 million of which is in the middle class. The huge purchasing power for whatever investment you have is in Lagos State.
“Lagos State as of today is the 5th largest economy in Africa, $135billion GDP which is equivalent to 42 African countries put together.”
The Permanent Secretary, Office of the Overseas Affairs, Yakub Balogun, also explained that the sensitisation of the state’s MDAs was to clear many grey areas such that all the agencies and ministries would contribute to making the state investors friendly.
Story by David Oputah
