Lalong Unlocks Revenue, Job Opportunities in Plateau State

Chinedu Eze

The Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong has given incentives for private entrepreneurs to invest in Jos.This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Land, Survey and Town Planning, Mr. Yakubu Dati, who fielded questions from journalists at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The commissioner said that in response to the incentives many businesses have started spouting in different parts of Jos with job opportunities that youths of the state are being engaged.

He stated that in the last two years many companies have executed multibillion-naira investment in the state.

Dati said that recently, eateries and retailing companies have opened in the state capital, thus confirming the growing population of the middle class in the state.

“Few days ago, Domino’s Pizza opened business in Jos and the patronage has indicated that there is huge consumer market in the state and that may explain why Shoprite is coming in and ultra modern mall that would host it is already completed. The attraction of these global players is not by accident but results of deliberate actions,” Dato said.

He explained that Lalong assumed office with the keen ability to envision Plateau State’s future and to rally human and material resources around a shared vision.

Early in the life of his administration he inspired confidence following his deft moves in connecting the state to international trade.

“In quick succession, he acquired the BARC farms, and the Jos Inland Container Dry Port. Furthermore, he successfully lobbied for the completion of the Yakubu Gowon Airport Jos, and its subsequent completion of cargo international terminal facility. Lalong’s intense lobby paid off with the establishment of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, zonal office in Jos; dedicated to international shipping trade in the country. The approval to reactivate the Jos railway lanes and the dualisation of the Abuja/Jos/Gombe roads is well secured by Lalong’s administration,” Dati stated.

The commissioner also said that Lalong’s administration has, no doubt, put in place an engine of local economic development with its value addition of job creation, entrepreneurship and wealth creation.

“The Jos-Plateau is being steadily recalibrated into a central core of commerce with attraction to investors, manufactures, suppliers and distributors. There is connect between the huge potential and existing realities.

“His deliberate policies and programmes as encapsulated in the Plateau State Development Strategy developed by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) attracted many investors by its sheer clarity and achievable road-map. As confirmation of growing confidence in Lalong’s administration, many private businesses have sprung up, while companies and government agencies are jostling for Jos as a prime venue for conferences and retreats,”Dati also said.