Agbado Oke Odo Summit Will Boost Trade, Employment, Say Organisers

Oluchi Chibuzor

The Chairman, Organising Committee of the Agbado Oke Odo 2021 Summit, Mr. Sheik Olayemi Subaru, has said the 2021 summit is expected to boost trade in Africa, while also addressing high youth unemployment in the country.

Subaru stated this in Lagos, recently.

According to him, the Agbado Oko-Ode market is ranked second largest after mile 12 market, pointing out that the summit will feature professionals that would deliver professional advice to market traders.

He said there would be training and workshops organised for the traders and urged participating market associations to take advantage of opportunities, offered by the summit.

He said with the planned take off of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) in top gear, there was need for Nigerian businesses to be fully prepared for it.

“These are some of the things we are trying to achieve, so that they can add value to our products and services and like I said, every economy revolves round human capital development, just to make sure that we put the right food on their tables and make sure people are happy from their various trades.

“Agbado-oke-odo have been carved out to be the biggest market in Alimosho local government area of Lagos in terms of population and land mass and probably the largest market carved out of the 10 communities making up Alimosho LGA,” he added.

He said the summit also sought ways to engage minds of youths in its bid to stop youths restiveness.

He, however commended the Lagos state government’s efforts aimed at making lives better for residents.

“I must commend our Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu for giving us the support especially in this local government and presently, we are building the ICT market and by the time the ICT market is completed, it will help to alleviate poverty, create more revenues for the local government and create more job opportunities for our unemployed youths.

“This local government is ready and that is why we are trying to sensitise our people that when those facilities come on board, they will be able to take advantage of the opportunities they offer.”

He added that the summit would also help to boost local production, taking into cognisance, the need to produce quality goods, pointing out that it was one of the surest ways locally produced goods could compete at international markets.