Omolabake Fasogbon
The federal government as well as five State governors are wooing investors present at the ongoing ‘Invest In Lagos 3.0’ Summit, to invest in critical sectors at national and subnational levels, promising great investment returns.
Aside representatives from the presidency, the governo’rs of Lagos, Imo, Abia, Plateau, Taraba and Nasarrawa States made presentations at the Invest In Lagos 3.0 Summit tagged , ‘Lagos: The Business Gateway To Africa.’
Earlier, the Minister of Finance, Dr. Taiwo Oyedele assured investors of the determination of the federal government to create a condusive operating environment for businesses to thrive.
Part of the move, he said, is the new tax law that corrects some of the ills in the old tax system, adding that, the new law has now eradicated multiple taxation, increases compliance level while giving waivers to some businesses, especially, the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the country to enhance their survival.
At the subnational level, he said, the collection of Stamp duty has been relinquished to State governments applauding States that have already passed the Harmonised tax systems.
This, he said, will create good operating environment for businesses to thrive, promising the over 600 high-level delegates comprising innovators, global institutions, sovereign wealth funds, development finance institutions, multilateral institutions, structured finance specialists, trade networks across the Commonwealth and senior public officials that the federal government is pursuing a trillion dollar economy and iits providing the needed fiscal and monetary policies to make this a reality.
Similarly, the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, called for increased private sector investment across key infrastructure sectors, including rail transport, energy, agriculture, and agro-processing.
Sanwo-Olu said, the state is opening up major opportunities to bridge its infrastructure gap and unlock economic growth.
According to him, the state has significant untapped potential, particularly in transportation and utilities, noting that solving mobility challenges would have far-reaching economic benefits.
“We have opportunity in water, we are currently enjoying some credit facilities, but we still have a lot of opportunity. Just one thought of Lagos for water,” he said, highlighting the need for broader investment in water infrastructure. On transportation, the governor stressed that Lagos’ long-term growth depends heavily on efficient mobility systems, particularly rail and waterways.
“If we solve transportation issues in Lagos, what we are doing is we are unlocking the economic potential. Travel time will be completely reduced. People can get to one point or the other easily, quicker, and faster,” Sanwo-Olu said.
He added that improved transport systems would directly enhance productivity and household incomes while improving the ease of doing business for investors.
“It keeps money in their pocket, but they are able to do and transact better. And the private sector can indeed track their investment, because the numbers are there, the population is there,” Sanwo-Olu said.
He used the opportunity to court investors into Lagos’ expanding technology ecosystem, particularly in digital infrastructure and data services.
“Today, we’re building what we call not just data centres, we’re building fibre connectivity around the city. The future is technology,” he said, adding that, Lagos is actively scaling up digital infrastructure to attract hyperscale data centre investments.
According to him, Lagos is already positioning itself as a technology hub, but requires more private capital to expand capacity. “We’ve opened one, but there’s still huge opportunities in technology, in data, and infrastructure,” he noted.
Sanwo-Olu also emphasised agriculture and agro-processing as critical investment frontiers, citing Lagos’ large population and consumption demand as a major advantage for investors.
“With 24 to. 25 million people, you know that this is a ready market,” he said, adding that, food security and supply chain logistics remain strategic priorities for the state. He explained that Lagos is developing a central logistics park and seeking additional investment to strengthen agro-processing capacity and improve food distribution. We need a lot of processing plants. We need a lot of agro-processing opportunity that is there,” he said.
Speaking, the governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti disclosed that, his administration is redesigning the architecture of Aba and critical market and business clusters in the State, leveraging the industrious nature of the indigenes of the State.
He said, the State is producing its energy, such that, some communities, who before now, are having epileptic power supply, now have 24-hour electricity supply, thus, reshaping the operating business environment that allows business growth.
He said, the State’s airport is undergoing several transformations to make investors’ movement in and out of the State easier and seamless.
On his part, the governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma said, his administration is creating a State that can generate internally its revenue by fixing some of the infrastructural deficits he met on ground, to attract both local and foreign investors in its industrial revolution.
Similarly, the governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Sule said, the state has vast land for agricultural activities and it’s deepening reforms around this by attracting investors in that space, while also leveraging the proximity to Abuja to attract more people and businesses into the State as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) becomes congested.