Edo now haven for investors, Oshiomhole tells US envoy
Governor Adams Oshiomhole and Mr John Gray, Consul-General
of the United States in Nigeria during the latter's visit to the Governor in
his office, on Tuesday.
(Nigeria) Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, has said that his
administration has created a conducive environment for investments to thrive,
explaining that the $1 billion Azura Power Project will make the state the hub
of power generation in the country.
Speaking during a visit of the United States Consul-General,
Mr. John Bray, to him, on Tuesday, Oshiomhole said government has no business
running businesses, but to create the right environment for business to thrive
He said: “Edo State Government is a small shareholder in the
Azura Power Plant and you know that our task as a sub-national government is
not to try to get ourselves into running businesses but create the environment
that will make Edo attractive for private initiative to locate businesses, like
Azura Power and several others.
“Government seeking to do everything hasn’t
worked, and just won’t work. I am happy with the progress they are making and
as you can see, for the USAID to support it and put in their dollars, there is
something that is attractive there; there is something that is doable, and like
I said to them earlier, of all the challenges we have today, in terms of
creating enabling environment for a competitive economy, to create jobs for our
young people, power is central. And with Azura, we think that all the problems
will not be solved and Edo State will become increasingly a hub for power
generation and distribution.”
Oshiomhole lauded the leadership role of the United States
Government, saying “allow me to use this opportunity to convey the
appreciation of the government and people of Edo State to the US government and
indeed to a number of non-state actors from the US in terms of your interest
and your support to our democracy, for a country that has been battered through
military dictatorship since 1966. I think we will continue to need the support
and encouragement of the US government.”
Earlier, the US Consul-General, Mr. John Bray, said they
were in Benin to celebrate the opening of the first phase of the Azura Power
Plant and to meet the governorship candidates for the September 10,
governorship election in the state.
He said, “We are here to celebrate the opening of the first
phase of Azura Power Plant which is a deliverable from President Obama’s power
Africa initiative in 2013.
"We are also here to talk to the candidates regarding
the upcoming election, and we are hoping that the election will be free,
transparent and non-violent. And we will be talking about that.
"We will be meeting with the APC candidate and we are
meeting with the PDP candidate this evening (yesterday), and as usual, the
message we are trying to deliver and that we are hoping to deliver is free,
transparent and non-violent election in September. And so, working with the
candidates, and other members of the international community, we will return in
September and put a strong impact together.”
Also speaking the USAID Mission Director, Mr. Mike Ivy, said
“we are making our first visit to the Azura this afternoon. Basically, this is
something we are extremely excited about. This is a huge investment of American
capital, both from the private sector and the US government. And we know that
it is going to have a significant contribution to Nigeria’s future, and we are looking forward
to visiting.”
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