I’ve Attracted $65m Investment To Oyo In 4 Years, Says Ajimobi

Two years into his second term, Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State weekend  said that his administration  attracted investment  worth $65 million to the state within four years.  Ajimobi made the disclosure on while unveiling the Transformation Industrial Park Project on  the Ibadan-Lagos Expressway and also unveiled the industrial park and flagged off the Phase 1 of the Polaris Pacesetter Free Trade Zone as part of activities marking his administration’s sixth year anniversary.
The industrial park has 162 plots of land, with  the Free Trade Zone  located on 4,000 hectares of  land.  He told the people “From the National Bureau of Statistics figures on  Foreign Direct Investment inflow into Nigeria  over the period between 2011 and 2015,  Oyo  State attracted a total of $64.8 million investment.  “This places the state second only to Lagos State  in the South West,’’ the governor  said.  Ajimobi said  his administration also  attracted 34  new companies, while two others, Leyland Busan  Motors Limited and Dizengoff, were resuscitated  by their owners.

According to him, the companies have  yielded a  turnover of N32 billion and have  created over  3,000 jobs.  The governor also said that the industrial park  had  been divided into 162 plots of various sizes  to accommodate medium and small scale  industries.  He said  “We assure investors that the paper processing  for their plots would not exceed 30 days.  Let me state here that the first 20 allottees  would enjoy 70 percent discount,’’ he said.  He assured the former land owners of the benefit  from the investment through profit sharing sayin that the state was uniquely blessed  with land mass and resourceful people, noting  that 75 percent of the  state’s land mass was  arable.

“Our state is blessed with arable land and mineral  resources. With all the blessings, the state was  trapped in violence, decadence and culture of  impunity.  “It was also tagged the dirtiest in the country until we came on board. Let me tell you that in the last six years, we have been able to make the state clean, safe and healthy for residents and investors,’’ he said. Mrs Folake Akinleye, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Investment, Promotion and Public Partnership,  said  the park was established  to elevate the state from its civil service status to an industrialised one. This, she said, was in line with the restoration, transformation and repositioning agenda of the Ajimobi administration.

“With the unveiling of this park today, the state is  set for better opportunities for investment,  investors and industrialists from all over the world,’’ he said. Chief Kola Akosile, the Chairman of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Oyo/Osun/Ondo/Ekiti branch,  commended the governor for his doggedness and commitment to the tenets of Public-Private Partnership. Akosile, who was represented by his deputy, Vikroam Gursahanei, said  industrialisation was critical in   driving development noting “Industrialisation provides the brightest hope for sustained growth, employment generation, improved savings and poverty alleviation,’’ he said. Mr Olaitan Alabi, the Chairman of  Oyo State Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, said that the efforts  of the state government deserved commendation.