Omoniyi Salaudeen
The Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has solicited the support of financial institutions to actualize his mission to take the state to the next level.
He made the call Friday night when he played host to a team from Wema Bank Plc led by its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Demola Adebise, at his Okemosan office, Abeokuta, the state capital. The governor said his administration was poised to reposition the health, education, infrastructure and the agricultural sectors in the state.
This is as he promised to re-jig the security apparatus of the state to enhance safety of lives and property, urging the banks to participate actively in the Security Trust Fund. “We will lay emphasis on security, knowing full well that being the gateway state, hoodlums will like to move from the neighbouring states and countries to cause havoc here. So, security will be one of our priority areas”, he said.
The Governor further disclosed that Ogun and Lagos states would soon set up a commission to deal with issues relating to physical planning, security and taxes, added that roads linking neighbouring states would be rehabilitated to ease movement of goods and services.
He said the government was working towards reducing the alarming rate of youth unemployment by establishing vocational training centres to provide training on tiling, carpentry, shoe making, fashion design, among others, to make them self-reliant.
Governor Abiodun assured that his administration would leverage on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) intervention programmes in the agricultural sector to make the state the food basket of the nation.
On his part, Mr. Adebise pledged the support of the bank to the laudable programmes of the administration, promising to assist the state in accessing intervention funds from the CBN to revitalise its agricultural sector and its value chain.