Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has restated his administration’s commitment to partnering with local and foreign investors to develop the state and increase its economic prosperity.
He stated this on Wednesday when he received a delegation of Chinese businessmen and investors in his conference room at the Office of the Governor, Ibadan.
The governor welcomed the investors to the state and said they were in the right place for business partnerships. He assured them that Oyo State is open for business.
While assuring the team that his administration would do everything possible to support businesses in the state, Makinde noted that the state would not relentlessly expand and boost its economy through local and foreign investors willing and ready to partner with the state government.
He expressed the hope that the state and the Chinese investors would have mutually beneficial business collaboration.
Ambassador Gbadebo Afolabi, the team leader and Nigerian Consul-General in Shanghai, China, had earlier stated that the Chinese businessmen were willing to collaborate with the state government on mining, energy, infrastructure development, and agriculture.
Chairman of the Working Committee for Overseas Cooperation of the China Association of Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr He Lixiong, who spoke through an interpreter, Mr Innocent Okonkwo, also said the visit aimed to collaborate with the state government on critical sectors of the economy.
The Chief of Staff, Otunba Segun Ogunwuyi; Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Mr Williams Akin-Funmilayo; Director-General, Oyo State Investment and Public Private Partnership Agency, Hon. Tilewa Folami; and Mr. Tosin Ayoade were in attendance.
On the Chinese delegation were Dean, Qingdao Tourism Planning and Architectural Design Institute, Mr Zezhong Yang; CEO, Sichuan Branch of China Machinery Industry Construction Group Inc., Mr Wang Fan; Manager, Changzhou Sanxin Energy Company Limited, Mr Liu Xiangdong; and Secretary, Nigerian Kazakhstan Business Council and Strategic Partners, China Overseas Working Committee, Mr Kehinde Adeyemi.