Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has reiterated the readiness of his administration to make the state an investment-friendly destination in order for businesses to thrive.
A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Taiwo Adisa, quoted Governor Makinde as having said this while speaking with investors and other stakeholders at the Oyo-Ile Investors’ Forum held at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan.
Makinde noted that the state was looking forward to establishing a Lagos-Ibadan economic hub, saying: “When we met in May at the Investors’ Forum, I actually thought a lot of you came in here to while away time.
“I was waiting to see what will come next after the forum but it’s good to know that before our 100 days in office, you were able to bring this report about the activities of Oyo Ile Forum. Therefore, I want to say thank you for those efforts.”
The governor hinted that his administration would do everything possible to woo investors that will bring their resources to expand the economy of the state.
He said: “Where we are right now as a state is we get slightly above N5 billion as federal allocation monthly but we pay workers’ salaries that is way above N5 billion. So, you will see that we don’t even cut any slack for developmental projects.
“We have a state that is so blessed in human and material resources. We have a state that, in landmass, is as big as Belgium. We have a state with arable lands.
“From the Northern part of the state, we have derived Savannah, all the way to the south here with rain forest. It means every each of land can actually be cultivated. And we also have solid mineral deposits here,” he added.