ABEOKUTA– The advent of the Dapo Abiodun led administration as Governor of Ogun State in 2019 was greeted with so much enthusiasm owing to his perceived antecedent in the business circle, especially from the oil and gas industry.
The citizens, in the run off to the elections also had some sort of encouraged believe that the state is about to witness a quantum leap in the running of the state, knowing that the industrial drive will witness a new direction under the new administration.
The supposed parley between the governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun and his Lagos State counterpart, Mr Babajide Sanwoolu before, during and after the election was also a factor the citizens considered as a plus.
However, it is believed in some quarters that more than a year into this administration, the people’s believe and enthusiasm is going down the drain as the perceived economic development is nothing to merge their desire post May 29th, 2019.
The perceived industrial drive the state was to leverage upon it’s proximity to Lagos State (the largest industrial hub in the country) has not experienced it’s optimum as some will believe.
The lastest report by the business day newspaper titled ‘Investors Dumps Lagos As Ogun Becomes New Industrial Hub’, dated Monday 10th August, 2019, though well articulated, may not have called for the celebration amongst the present government quarters when facts inbeded in the report are checked.
Therefore, THE NEWS VILLE in this report, is doing a brief analysis of the above report, with what is obtainable and on ground in the state, vis-a-vis pro and post May 29th, 2019.
In one of the paragraph, Business Day reports that, “Direct investors have shunned Lagos State in the last six years, preferring rather to set up plants in Ogun State, a neighbouring state with cheaper doing business environment.
“Business Day’s analysis of data provided by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) shows that Ogun dwarfs Lagos in new real sector investments by 23 percent between 2014 and 2019”
The above data suggests that the perceived surge in the companies relocation to Ogun State may not have started with the administration of Dapo Abiodun as stated in the report.
In another paragraph, the reports also reads that, “Out of the N3.353 trillion pumped in the new investments in manufacturing and agro processing sectors in six years, Lagos got N928.02 billion while Ogun welcome N1.682 trillion within the period”
“Business Day analysis shows that while Lagos got 27.67 percent of the total investments, Ogun got 50.16 percent- an indication that the state is now Nigeria’s industrial hub. Thirty-four states and FCT shared the remaining 22.17 percent, reflecting their unattractiveness to investors”
Again, the above analysis indicate that this perceived development is owed solely on the immediate past administration, therefore it’s celebration by some appointees of the present administration is totally a falacy.
Finally, the business day reports made it clear in its winding paragraphs that ” Seventy manufacturing companies were established during first four-year tenure of Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State and both existing and new companies were given some level of incentives and benefits that prompted rapid development in the manufacturing sector”
It also stated that, “Manufacturers said during interviews that they got tax and land rebates in Ogun during the Ibikunle Amosun government, which lowered their production costs in the long run”
“They also said it was easier and seamless to get certificate of occupancy (C-of-O) in Ogun than in Lagos from 2015 to 2017”
The present administration must provide business friendly environment to ensure that investors do not exit the way they did in Lagos, an advise by a manufacturer of chemical, Ike Ibeabuchi may however come in handy, instead of the unnecessary celebration drawn from this analysis by some.
