Osun targets regional commercial hub

Osun State Government on Tuesday hinted of a plan to move the state to a regional economic hub.

It also affirmed its commitment to build a virile and robust economy that will be the pride of citizens and residents.

Chief of Staff to Governor Adegboyega Oyetola stated this yesterday during a news conference on the State’s Economic and Investment Summit which will hold between November 19 and 21 in Osogbo, the capital.

Dr. Charles Diji Akinola added that no fewer than 1000 participants will participate at the Summit to be attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele..

Dr. Akinola, who is the chairman of the summit planning committee, said the Summit will drive home the state’s Development Agenda, which primarily is to sustainably reposition the economy of the state and deliver prosperity to the people.

He said the platform will be used to showcase investment opportunities in the state to Nigeria and international investors.

He noted that the Summit is in fulfilment of the promise the governor made during his inauguration last November to hold an Economic and Investment Summit to drive the economy of the state.

He said the Summit will help to develop a strategic roadmap that will help to boost the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state.

“This is going to be a platform where the state will be looking inward to grow the immense economic potential of the state and as well showcase Osun as a strategic location for industrialisation.

“We are going to look at the area of agriculture where cocoa economy will be revamped. This is going to be a paradigm shift in the annals of our economy as we want to change completely the mentality of being the civil service state to industrialised and agro-economic state. We have the ecological advantage to advance our economy. We want to become a regional commercial hub.

“We have mining assets which if properly harnessed  can help to boost the economic potentials of the state. We want to regulate the sector for the benefit of the people and the state. Already,  Osun is officially on the global mining map.

“We also want to look into the  tourism sector by developing our tourist sites. We are looking at eco-tourism through exploration of the economic potentials at Osun Grove, Olumirin Waterfalls, Opa Oranmiyan tourist site in Ile-Ife and the state’s textile economy. We will revitalise the economy around these assets.

“Osun has been known as a regional hub for commerce. People then, moved from far and near to Osogbo to buy and sell. So, we are going to reactivate this for the benefit of the state and her people. We are glad that we have aggressively developed infrastructure. Our infrastructure renewal will go a long way to achieve this aim. Since our state is among the safest in the country, we  will also also market that to attract investment and investors “,  he added.