The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has commended governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, on his initiatives in creating investors’ friendly and economic viable environment to attract and support investors willing to impact on the state economy.
The Branch Chairman of MAN in Oyo, Osun, Ekiti and Ondo States, Mr Lanre Popoola, who stated this in Akure, Ondo state capital during the visit of MAN delegation to Akeredolu in his office noted that the present Akeredolu led administration in the state has shown the zeal to partner with private investors to improve the economy of the state.
Popoola said the steps embarked upon by Akeredolu attracted MAN which necessitated their visit to the state in order to synergise and partner with the state government in driving a road map for continued industrialization of the state.
He commended the economic initiative of governor Akeredolu in various ways and solicited more collaboration between the state government and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria in attracting reputable industries to tap into the natural resources of the state for overall economic benefits.
Popoola said “The state has potential to be an industrial hub as it is the gateway to the West, North and even to the East in Nigeria, so we want to explore all these potentials and see how we can key in into the vision of Mr Governor in industrialising this state.
“We are here on a visit to our members to carry out some findings and assess our relationship with the state and we can promise you that with this visit we are going to raise the membership base within the next one year because there are a lot of opportunities here.
“We are ready to key into your policies and bring in more investors into the state. We have seen that the state is open to investors and we want to be part of it. We want you to put us as members in some of your technical boards, committees and agencies so that we can partake in driving the industrial growth of this state.
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“This state has a lot of potentials, we have the seaports with the longest coastline in Nigeria and we want to actually explore all these facilities that are on the ground. We also look at the Ore Industrial hub, we see that we could do a lot of things. Investors are coming. We also have a lot of potentials for the agro-allied industry here, for cocoa, for the food industry and these are areas that we are going to work on in bringing in investors.”
While responding, Akeredolu expressed his readiness to partner with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria saying the relationship would help his administration’s vision in industrialising the state.
Akeredolu noted that with the latest global challenges, there was a need for serious collaboration between government and experts in solving basic economic challenges with the available natural resources in the state.
While listing some of his administration’s achievements such as the Ore industrial hub, the governor said he was optimistic that Port Ondo’s vision would soon become a reality to provide jobs not only for the people of the state but also to ease the burden of other ports in the country.
He, however, called on the association not to hesitate towards contributing positively to the development of the state, assuring them that the state government will always be ready to encourage them and join hands with MAN in putting the state on the global map.
