ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, has set an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) target of N60 billion for the state in 2023, at the Alaghodaro Investment Summit, holding in Benin City, the State capital.
The Investment Summit holds yearly, in partnership with the private sector, to mark the anniversary of Governor Obaseki in office and showcase the progress being recorded in transforming the state into an investment haven.
Celebrating this yearās edition, to mark the Obaseki’s 6th anniversary, themed āEdoās Transformation: Partnerships, Resilience, Impact,ā is taking place between Friday, 11 November and Sunday, 13 November, 2022.
Obaseki, in his address, said the stateās growth will come from leveraging its comparative advantage and exploring opportunities in culture, forestry, manufacturing, agriculture and technology, among other sectors of the stateās economy, to drive development, Vanguard reports
He said: āWe see growth ahead of us and this growth is going to come from certain endowments that we have which most people donāt have. Our culture ā people must come and see us and admire what our forebears built. Our forestry assets ā the world is talking about net zero carbon and we have something to contribute to the environment and environmental economy.
āManufacturing is the way to go. Edo has the largest onshore gas reserve in Nigeria with most of our other gas in the swamps and the offshore. With that energy source, thereās no reason we cannot generate enough energy to attract investors to drive industrialization.
“Agriculture; thatās what we grew up with. Of our 19 million square kilometres of land, thereās practically no way we cannot grow something. For us, the future is technology, because the world is talking about technology and that is the new area of focus.ā
While noting that the government hopes to raise over N60bn in 2023 from internally generated revenue, Obaseki said: āIn the last six years, things have not been easy, but we have tried in our own little way. You can see that from 2016 when we got in, we tried to increase Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Except for the COVID-19 year, we sustained an increase in our IGR and we hope to end the next year with over 60bn IGR.ā
Stressing on the need to rebase the nationās economy from consumption to production, Governor Obaseki stated: āIn spite of all the challenges that face as a country, we have over 200 million people who are going to be 450 million in 2050 and will not stop consuming. Therefore, if this is our reality, it means that we cannot and should not be despondent.”
Meanwhile, the Oba of Benin, Omo NāOba NāEdo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II, CFR attended the summit, for the first time in six years.
Oba Ewuare II who only superintended over the traditional breaking of kolanut during the opening session of the event did not make any speech at the event.
Other dignitaries at the event include Edo State Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Comrade Philip Shaibu; Secretary to Edo State Government, Osarodion Ogie Esq.; Speaker, Edo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Marcus Onobun; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Osaigbovo Iyoha; Commissioner for Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Olaitan Bamidele, and Chief Imam of Benin Kingdom, Alhaji Fatai Enabulele, among others.
Experts at the event predicted a positive economic outlook in Edo on the back of the Benin Enterprise Park, the Cultural District, Modular Refinery, Ossiomo Power Company and other numerous transformative reforms and projects pursued by the state government.