Gov. Idris Wada of Kogi, has urged both local and foreign companies to take advantage of the conducive business climate in the state to invest.
Wada made the call at a round table business meeting organised by the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) on Wednesday night in Abuja.
Wada said that the state had outlined a number of incentives ranging from tax holiday, access to land and provision of labour.
According to him, the state is proud of itself as a confluence city where the rivers Benue and Niger meet.
He explained that the convergence of these two rivers provided the state with a coast environment that should be exploited.
“We also boast of fertile land for the production of rice and other plants that require water to grow,’’ he said.
In the commitment to further boost agriculture, the governor said the state had set aside massive industrial area for the production of agro based items.
He said that the investors must cash on the location of the state and the presence of numerous solid minerals to invest in the state.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, expressed delight on the platform provided by NIPC to bring together potential business groups that were willing to invest in the country.
Aganga said that the country was the number one business destination in Africa, adding that the 36 states of the federation, including Abuja were virgin lands to grow all kinds of businesses.
He said that Nigeria was one of the few countries in the world that allowed transfer of profits made in the country to companies’ homelands.
Aganga explained that the numerous available incentives were essentially introduced to encourage industrialisation of the country.
“The government is aware of the need to create growth that would impact on the standards of living of its peoples.
“We hence committed to encourage all legitimate enterprises that could reposition the country to be able to cater for its huge population,’’ he said.
Malam Abubakar Sadiq, the Acting Executive Secretary of NIPC, the convener of the meeting, said that NIPC was a one stop-shop business registry that provided radar for investors to navigate in the country.
The meeting was attended by 21 chief executives representing local and foreign companies. (NAN)
