Dangote, others to attend Oyo State Economic Summit

Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man and President of Dangote Group, American Consul General in Nigeria, Jeffrey Hawkins, and Chairman of Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko are some of the participants expected at the Oyo State Economic Summit holding on 14 and 15 April 2014 at the Ibadan Civic Center.

 

Spearheading the economic summit, the Ministry Of Trade, Investment and Cooperatives, told journalists at a press conference in Ibadan that IITA was chosen as a partner for the project to show that the government has provided the right terrain, infrastructure, and human resources to drive its comparative advantage in agriculture successfully.

The Commissioner of Trade Investment and Cooperatives, Oyefunke Oworu, who described the summit as long overdue, said that it would open the doors of the state to local and foreign investors on a larger pedestal, with a view to finding practical solutions and developing strategies that would serve as integrated road map for the economic transformation of the state.

With the theme ”Oyo State; Right For Business”, the Commissioner said that the Government had over the past few years made necessary provisions to create conducive atmosphere for investors, adding that Oyo was ready to go back to its glorious days of earnings from agriculture.

The Director-General of the IITA, Ntenraya Sangiga, in his remarks at the conference, said that enormous potentials abound through the active partnership of IITA, the Oyo State Government and the private sector. He noted that being one of the largest producers of cassava in Nigeria, the state had more than enough to leverage in crop production, using the best technology available.

With an expansive arable land area of 27,107.5 square kilometres, a working population of approximately 4.3million people, Gross State Product (GSP) of approximately 1.7billion dollars, per capita income of 276dollars, over 5 research institutes, and an estimated population of over 7.5 million people, blessed with more than 40 outstanding tourist sites, Oyo State appears to be capable of becoming the destination of choice for serious investment.

The summit which starts on April 14 is expected to attract captains of industries, directors of blue chip industries, heads of local and international organisations, top officials of embassies, SMEs among other stakeholders.

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