Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, said the state’s vision of unlocking prosperity, creating employment and boosting trade volume is well on course with the launch of the Oyo State African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) sub-national implementation strategy.
This is just as he declared that the launch of the strategy would enhance the administration’s agenda for the sustainable development of the state.
According to the governor, his administration became emboldened to engage in the agreement given the sheer size and population of the state and the huge investments it has made on infrastructure development, noting that the agreement would culminate into massive employment creation, opportunities for entrepreneurs and business owners and boosting of trade volumes.
Makinde, who spoke during a post-engagement meeting on the AfCFTA implementation, held at the Local Government Service Commission Training School, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, stated that his government would like to be remembered as one that put in place institutions and structures that will enable the state’s smooth transition into the future.
The governor also said his administration has not only been investing in rebuilding infrastructure and implementing policies that improve the standard of living of Oyo State residents for today, it has also saved about $6 million in the Sovereign Wealth Fund it floated some months ago with a focus on the future of the state.
Noting that knowledge and productivity must be combined with natural resources to take any state or country out of poverty, he hailed the state’s venture into AfCFTA as the first sub-national, saying it formed part of institutional initiatives that will shape the future of the state.
He added that the building of several landmark infrastructure, including the ongoing upgrading of the Ibadan Airport to international standard and the implementation of key policies, which encourage economic expansion, meant that his administration’s vision for sustainable development is on its way to fruition.
The governor appreciated the AfCFTA technical working group led by his Special Adviser on AfCFTA and International Trade, Ms Neo Theodore Tihaselo, saying, “Let me say thank you to the team and the AfCFTA. You have done really well on behalf of our state and your thoughts and diligence, dedication will not go unrewarded.
“I have had people say to me, ‘oh, thank you, we have seen that the roads within Ibadan are quite better now. We have also seen the road between Moniya and Iseyin; Oyo and Iseyin and all over the state and all that.
“Some people will come to me and say, ‘ah, thank you, our schools are getting facilities. People will say, oh, look, we have employed about 15,000 teachers, you know.’ They say we have employed a lot of health workers. And that the people that were sent out of the civil service, we reviewed their cases and they have been brought back.
“Our infrastructure is becoming top-notch; we are upgrading the airport and we have put facilities for storage and dispensing of aviation fuel in there. Wide-bodied aircraft can now land at the airport,” he said.
Earlier in her welcome address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on AfCFTA and International Trade, Tihaselo, appreciated the governor for his effort in making Oyo State the first sub-national, not just in Nigeria, but in the entire African continent, to sign on to the agreement.
She stressed that the governor’s visionary leadership has led to massive economic development in the state.
She explained that the post-launch engagement was a statutory administrative process that followed the launch of the implementation strategy, which pronounced Oyo State as a party to the AfCFTA to engage within the African continent on the agreement’s framework.
Tlhaselo added that the implementation strategy is a legal instrument that would allow Oyo State to engage with other states globally in trading with access to bilateral relations and international trade agreements, thereby positioning it as an able partner to many African countries.
Kemi Olaitan
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