The Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, hosted key players in Nigeria’s private sector to a business dinner in Lagos on Thursday.
The dinner which included Chief Executive Officers of conglomerates, members of the diplomatic corps, and other stakeholders in the investment community was organised by Alaghodaro Economic Summit Ltd/GTE to showcase investment opportunities in Edo State and canvas private capital.
Dignitaries at the Business Summit held at the Civic Centre, Lagos, include the Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu; Chairman of Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, Dr Aderemi Makanjuola; Founder of Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc, Dr Atedo Peterside, and the Founder, Silverbird Group, Ben Murray-Bruce.
Obaseki said, “We have moved our systems to an electronic platform. I will be the last governor to sign papers in Edo. I sign all approvals in the state on the Oracle platform. Minimum wage is now N40,000 and we believe it is not enough.”
He added, “We are creating more opportunities for technical education so that we can de-emphasize the culture of certificates. We also intend to train mid-level manpower in agriculture and would like to partner with the private sector to develop the curriculum for the institution.
“We are also building capacity in the healthcare sector. There is really no need to complain about other countries poaching our health workers. All we need to do is to train more.”
In his welcome address, the Chairman of Alaghodaro Ltd/GTE, Dr Asue Ighodalo, said the event was organised to engage with and seek private investors’ partnership and participation in driving the state’s 30-year development plan.
He stated, “In Edo State, we will continue to demonstrate our commitment to lead the charge. We do it because we understand unequivocally the potential of states to create a groundswell of activity that can galvanize national economic renewal.
“It was this sort of thinking that grew the average GDP rate of our country to 8 per cent between 1956 and 1963.”
