The Ogun State Government has said that its giant strides in various sectors of the economy are geared towards ensuring a legacy that would make the state the envy of other states.
Deputy Governor Noimot Salako-Oyedele stated this while receiving Commissioner for Industry, Trade and Investment Adebola Sofela, a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, CIBN, in the company of a delegation of the institute led by its national president, Prof. Pius Olanrewaju, to her office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, on Friday.
Salako-Oyedele noted that the Abiodun-led administration had, in the last five years, implemented policies that had made the state the preferred destination of choice for investors.
She highlighted the recent start of rice harvest on 200 hectares of land near the Ogun River floodplain in Magboro, which she said would produce approximately 14,000 bags of rice in three months.
“His Excellency is working on expanding the programme to about 2,000 hectares and we are going to bring in more young people who have no history of farming. We will train them and give them support so that they can start in this agric-business.
“This is the type of activity where we need the support of bankers for the smaller-scale sector, who, to bankers, are risky businesses but they are the backbone of the economy because they employ thousands of people, improve food security, and make our country a better place,” she said.
She, however, tasked the bankers with increasing their penetration in rural areas, saying that the absence of services like banks in rural areas can deter and force them to give up on their agricultural activities.
Earlier, the President of CIBN, Prof. Olanrewaju, lauded the present administration for its sterling performance so far, saying its efforts in increasing the presence of more industries in the state were in preparation for the future.
