INVESTMENT DRIVE: OSUN D.G. DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS, HON. ENGR. AYODEJI BELLO, MEETS WITH NIGERIAN AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH AFRICA, FOREIGN INVESTORS.

PRESS RELEASE.

INVESTMENT DRIVE: OSUN D.G. DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS, HON. ENGR. AYODEJI BELLO, MEETS WITH NIGERIAN AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH AFRICA, MINISTER OF ECONOMICS, (TRADE AND INVESTMENT), NIGERIAN HIGH COMMISSION, SOUTH AFRICA AND REPRESENATIVES OF MINING COMPANIES IN SOUTH AFRICA ON TRADE AND INVESTMENTS IN OSUN STATE

The Director General of the Osun Development Partners, Hon. Engr. Ayodeji Bello has taken the bull by the horns in one of his many frantic bids to push forward the investment drive by the administration of Senator Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke recently.

The D.G at a parley during a meeting with the Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa, His Excellency, Amb. Alexander T. Ajayi opened the various windows of business and investment opportunities that are available in Osun State.  

The team discussed extensively on the modalities and the format the investments would take between Osun State and South African trading partners. 

 

The Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa, H.E. Amb. Alexander T. Ajayi in his opening speech after listening to Engr. Ayodeji  Bello said“what we were fearing was we don’t know if the interest from this side will be commensurate with that of the other side but now that the beacon, the light is being shown, we have just realized that Osun State can be the forth where we can go further, we are looking at those governors who are sitting on some minerals, Plateau, Taraba, Zamfara, all those states, get them to South Africa, maybe four, five, six or seven, bring them to South Africa, to have a round table conference with big time mining companies, they can have a round table discussion, they can form attaché and begin to see what they can do, you know time is of essence, we need to be doing things and stop just talking,  enough of rhetoric, enough of talking, talking, talking, it’s a good thing, what we are requesting from you is a concept note, then we can take it up from there, we can have further discussions with many big time mining companies and other natural resources mining companies, so that we can see, in this year we can plan a visit."

The  Honourable Minister (Econs), Trade and Investments, Nigeria High Commission, South Africa, Hon. Mike Okwudike says 

“We should be looking for how to increase the volume of trade between South Africa and Nigeria, people said they noticed that when you look at the balance of trade, they tend to say that South Africa buys more from Nigeria than Nigeria buys from south Africa, they won’t look at the content because most of what they buy from Nigeria is oil related products not the solid mineral related ones.”

“Nigeria has been talking of diversification for a very long time and it is important they should work the talk, the Ambassador was expressing delight that people like you, Engr. Ayodeji Bello, has come with the readiness to collaborate with the partners, I will urge you not to only look at abroad, look inwards in African economic and business domain, 

“Of course you will need foreign funds, but I’m glad the Excellency has asked you for concept note , it is extremely important because that’s what sells you to us, so when you come with your learning papers it will help the South African investors and Nigerian investors to talk to themselves, talk to each other on how much they are willing to be committed in each other’s countries and then frankly they will speak on the challenges they face, let South African country tell us we want to invest in your country but we learnt that there is A B C & D so that we can take it to people like you and others, dismantle this mountains so that the people with funds can come and deploy them for your own advantage, so that people from home can also tell us the impediments they are facing with South African economy”

“We want to know the quantity of Gold you have in Osun State so that people will know what they are coming for, if it is 1% of what they are coming for, so that they will know how much power they will need to sustain that industry because an investor needs to know what kind of power they will need to sustain the industry, is it solar power, is it hydro power etc, they will want to know who are the collaborative partners, they want some locals to put in some money into the economy, you know critical sectors taking part in the investment as collaborators, a good risk taker doesn’t take risk alone.”

“How much security is there, Security is very important, not just security for individuals, security for the investment, security for the equipment, security for capital repatriation, all these should be captured in the concept note you are going to bring for us and these are the things that will make the concept note rich and interesting to use in enticing potential investors.

In his closing remarks. The Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa added “In compliments to that, you need also to include into the concept note, what are the incentives the government is giving, of course it’s a win-win situation, they should be motivated enough, things should be attractive enough for them to be motivated, what are the incentives the Osun State is going to give in terms of if it’s lands, whether it’s tax free, so that we package all that, so that we will begin to discuss with them, those are the things that will give them also the sense of commitments and say, okay we are going to an investment haven where we know that we can do this, so I think it is important, I think the stake, we need to look into the package so that we can develop the mineral resources that are available in Osun state for the willing partners.

The ambassador added that he will equally give Osun team the necessary backing should the government of South Africa request from his office, any diplomatic support for the Osun team that will give the investors necessary confidence for them to be sure of their safety and safety of their funds in Osun State.

Dignitaries at the meeting include Nigeria Ambassador to South Africa, His Excellency Amb. Alexander T. Ajayi; Hon. Minister (Econs)  Trade and Investment, Nigeria High Commission, South Africa, Hon. Mike Okwudike; Convener of the Meeting, Osun D.G, Investment Partners, Hon. Engr. Ayodeji Bello; Archbishop Prof. Chidiebere Aneiechi, African Diaspora Union President (AFRIDU); Dr. Sefiu O. Amusat, P.A. to Osun DG Investment partners and others.

Signed.

Hon. Engr. Ayodeji Bello,

D.G. Osun Development Partners,

Office of the Governor,

Osun State Secretariat,

Abere, Osogbo