AFRICA

Construction Work Begins on Sagamu-Ilaro Road

Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has disclosed that construction work has begun on the Sagamu-Papalanto-Ilaro Road under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement between Ogun State, the Federal Government and Dangote Group.

Abiodun, who disclosed this at the commissioning of the Abeokuta branch of Providus Bank at Oke-Ilewo, said the dual carriage way, which would be made of concrete, represents a successful story of how PPP could be used for the good of the people.

According to the governor, when completed the road would ease traffic on the Abeokuta -Siun- Sagamu road, which is currently providing a link from the Ota axis to the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.

He also said the influx of industries and other forms of investments to the state is a clear indication that the PPP vision of his administration is yielding positive results.

The governor noted that the various policies and programmes put in place by his administration through the ISEYA pillars and the buy-in by the private sector show that public private partnership could work if properly harnessed.

He said: “Ogun is blessed with mineral resources in abundance; two-thirds of our land is sitting on limestone. The gas pipelines that crisscross our state and the conducive environment have brought a lot of industries and businesses to our state.

“Ogun State is the largest producer of cassava in the world, number one producer of poultry and eggs in Nigeria. We are the industrial, religious, and educational capital of Nigeria.

“We have more universities than 3-4 states combined, which means that we are constantly incubating more students than any other state.”

He said the state would soon commence the construction of a Dry Port at Kajola to enable manufacturers import their raw materials and route them directly to the state, saying this would increase the State’s ranking on the ease of doing business index.

“This administration has been very deliberate by turning the push factor to pull factor. We will continue to provide the enabling environment for people to come, live, work, and play in our State,” he added.

The governor commended the bank for its giant strides in just seven years of its existence, especially its programmes on the Small and Medium Scale Enterprise which he said is the engine room of the economy, attributing its success to the tenacity and depth of the management in the banking sector.

The Alake of Egbaland, Oba Aremu Gbadebo, while commending the management of the bank for siting its branch in the state capital, emphasized the need for the bank to make loans available to its customers, as no bank could survive without granting loans, calling on all and sundry to patronize the bank for economic upliftment.

The Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Walter Akpani noted that the bank in the last three years, had organized Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises programmes that attracted about 4,000 people, saying the bank is poised to impact positively on the economic wellbeing of the state.

Akpani described the people of the state as commercial oriented, noting that Abeokuta has been a melting point for good things for long.

He added that his bank, which is one of the best financial institutions in the country, with several awards, is digitally inclined to make a positive impact in the lives of the people of the state.

James Sowole