The Lagos State Government has launched
a global campaign to play up investment opportunity in the state with a vision to
turn the state into investment hub for the world.
The State Government, made this known at
the media launch of the campaign tagged ‘Lagos To The World (L2W) held at Eko
Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, at the weekend, also unveiled a deal book
detailing investment opportunities in key sectors including health, transportation,
oil and gas, among others.
Speaking at the event which was attended
by members of diplomatic missions and the business community, Special Adviser,
Lagos State Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment, otherwise known as Lagos
Global, Professor Ademola Abass, said the global campaign was an initiative of
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration designed to better market and
communicate investment opportunities in the State.
Abass said in the last three years, the
State Government had invested massively in providing infrastructure as well as
the enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
“Lagos To The World (L2W) is an
initiative of Governor Ambode and what informed this is that we felt that all
the government has been doing in recent times especially in terms of investment
in the last three years should be made known to the world. We felt the world
need to know how Lagos has been improving in terms of infrastructural
development, in terms of security, roads, energy and so on.
“Most of these things are what attract
investors but the story is not being told out there and so the whole effort of
this is to tell people how Lagos Global has been working to project Lagos more
forcefully in terms of investment opportunities in Lagos State,” Abass said.
While alluding to how his office had
been enhancing ease of doing business and helping investors to set up
businesses in the State seamlessly and quicker, Abass said very little was
still known out there about the activities of the office, a development he said
necessitated the need for the global campaign.
“What we found out is that very little is
known about Lagos State out there and we thought it is high time we began to
more forcefully push Lagos narrative overseas. Today is about unpacking Lagos;
it is about how to move Lagos forward; it is about marketing Lagos and
communicating investment opportunities in Lagos to investors both in Nigeria
and outside the country,” Abass said.
On her part Commissioner for Commerce,
Industry and Cooperatives, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye said by the launch of the
campaign, Lagos was simply telling the world that it was ready for business,
adding that a lot of incentives had been put in place to encourage investment.
“By
the launch of this initiative, we want to sell Lagos to the world; we are
saying Lagos is ready for business and that we mean business; we are telling
the world that doing business in Lagos is the best thing to do; we are telling
the world that ease of doing business in Lagos is for us a hallmark; we are
telling the world that we are ready for investment.
“This is the best destination. Lagos has
a brand and that brand is investment friendly. We know in government that government
has no business in business, we only need investors to promote business in
Lagos State and when businesses are promoted, you can be sure that we would get
more money; when businesses are promoted, people will get work to do; when
businesses are promoted, our ranking on the ease of doing business will improve
and then we can talk about index of doing business in the State,” she speaks further
on the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Ibeju-Lekki area of the State, aside the
multi-billion dollar investment by the Dangote Group, a Deep Seaport,
International Airport and Intermodal Transport Network for seamless movement of
goods and services were being worked on, while the State Government was already
developing enterprise zone, small scale industrial estate and light industrial
parks across the State.
Also Commissioner for Special Duties and
Intergovernmental Relations, Mr. Seye Oladejo said the State Government, in the
last three years, had massively invested in security and safety of lives,
adding that investors should be rest assured of safety and comfort in the
State.
“The main thrust of any government is to
ensure safety of lives and property and that is a selling point for Lagos
State. Since the advent of the present administration of Governor Akinwunmi
Ambode, we have paid priority attention to issues bordering on safety and
security.
“A case in point is the rebranding of the
Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos Police Command; what we have been able
to do in area of emergency response that speaks for itself; capacity building
and acquisition of equipment. All these are being deliberately put in place to
give investors confidence to know that Lagos is definitely ready for business,”
Oladejo said.
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