Amosun Seeks Special Status for Ogun

Sheriff Balogun in Abeokuta
The Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, yesterday called on the federal government to accord a special status to his state, explaining that about 423 companies with a minimum of over N2 billion investment capital are caurrently operating from the state.

Out of these companies, according to the governor, over 100 have opened shops since the beginning of his administration adding that 14 new ones are in the process of inauguration.
Amosun disclosed during the opening of eighth National Council on Industry, Trade and Investment going on in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

The governor said Ogun State was next to Lagos State in terms of non-oil revenue to the federal government, adding that more companies have their operational base in the state.
The success, according to Amosun, was not unconnected with the realisation of partnering the organised private sectors at boosting the potential of the state.

He said: “To this end, our administration has continued to maintain and expand on existing infrastructures while new ones are being constructed. The results of these infrastructural developments are seen in the increase in investment inflow into Ogun State.

“We have continued to reap the benefits of our prudent financial management and re-engineered our internally generated revenue (IGR) drive. We have increased our IGR from the modest sum of N700 million monthly which we inherited at the beginning of our administration in 2011, to over N6billion per month in 2014, though, currently reduced to an average of N4.8 billion monthly due to the current economic recession in the country.

“As of now, our state is second only to Lagos State in the ratio of the monthly IGR to the monthly FAAC allocation. This has allowed us to sustain payment of workers’ salaries, while also continuing with other development projects in all other sectors of our economy.

“According to the 2014 Ease of Doing Business Subnational rankings, our state recorded the most improvement of all the 36 states in Nigeria. This was compared to the states, very poor ranking of 34th at the inception of our administration in 2011.

“We also introduced the concept of a “One Stop Shop” to assist investors in their interactions with government particularly during their early stage. I am happy to report that about 423 major companies/industries are presently operating in the state, while over 100 new significant companies have opened shop since the advent of our administration.

“Even in our current harsh economic climate, another 14 are currently in the process of commissioning their industries/ factories. Indeed, we hope that President Muhammadu Buhari will help to inaugurate some of these industries before the end of the year. Ogun State is now officially the industrial hub of the nation.”