Ambode woos investors to Lagos at Nairobi’s German-African Business Summit

Lagos state governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Thursday said the State is willing, able and ready to partner with investors within and outside Africa, just as he said that adequate measures have been put in place to enhance the ease of doing business within the state.

Governor Ambode, who spoke at the second edition of the German-African Business Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya, said as Africa’s model mega city, Lagos is strategically positioned to play a leading role in propelling development on the continent, adding that as a result of the growing investors’ confidence, the State is fast becoming a preferred destination for investors in Africa.

Giving statistics about State, the Governor said apart from being the 5th largest economy and fastest growing city in Africa with a population of over 22 million people comprising overwhelming proportion of middle class income earners, Lagos is also the contributor of 30 percent of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the leading contributor to the non-oil sector GDP.

“Lagos accounts for over 60 percent of the country’s industrial and commercial activities; over 70 percent of national maritime cargo freight; over 80 percent of international aviation traffic, and over 50 percent of Nigeria’s energy consumption.

“Also, Lagos is the nexus of Nigeria’s section of Trans-African highway which is being boosted by our enormous investment on the expansion of the Lagos Badagry Expressway, the primary ECOWAS highway, into 10-Lanes with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and the first light rail metro transit in West Africa.

“With these and the State’s 180km Atlantic waterfront crisscrossed by maze of creeks and lagoons, Lagos is an investment and tourist delight,” the governor said.

While alluding to the measures put in place so far by his administration, Governor Ambode said the policy objectives were based on a tripod of security, infrastructural development and job creation, saying that such was further driven by desire to build a sustainable economy that is minimally dependent on federal allocation, but a private sector-driven economy through local and foreign direct investment.