The Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, has said that the state’s vision of unlocking prosperity, creating employment and boosting trade volume is well on course with the launch of the Oyo State African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) sub-national implementation strategy.
The governor declared that the launch of the strategy would enhance the administration’s agenda for the sustainable development of the state.
According to the governor, his administration became emboldened to engage in the agreement given the sheer size and population of the state and the huge investments it has made on infrastructure development, noting that the agreement would culminate into massive employment creation, opportunities for entrepreneurs and business owners and boosting of trade volumes.
Governor Makinde, who spoke during a post-engagement meeting on the AfCFTA implementation, held at the Local Government Service Commission Training School, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, stated that his government would like to be remembered as one that put in place institutions and structures that will enable the state’s smooth transition into the future.
The governor also said that his administration has not only been investing in rebuilding infrastructure and implementing policies that improve the standard of living of Oyo State residents for today, it has also saved about 6 million US Dollars in the Sovereign Wealth Fund it floated some months ago with a focus on the future of the state.
Noting that knowledge and productivity must be combined with natural resources to take any state or country out of poverty, the governor hailed the state’s venture into AfCFTA as the first sub-national, saying it formed part of institutional initiatives that will shape the future of the state.
He added that the building of several landmark infrastructures, including the ongoing upgrading of the Ibadan Airport to international standard and the implementation of key policies, which encourage economic expansion, meant that his administration’s vision for sustainable development is on its way to fruition.
The governor appreciated the AfCFTA technical working group led by his Special Adviser on AfCFTA and International Trade, Ms Neo Theodore Tlhaselo.
Speaking further, the governor stated that Oyo State has areas of competitive advantage, which it will go after in its implementation of the AfCFTA strategy, noting that if its teeming youths can find gainful employment and it is able to earn foreign exchange following its investment in infrastructure development, then it would be able to move its people from poverty to prosperity in line with the vision of the administration.
“So, we have from day one, opportunities that we will go after. And if we can have our youths, our graduates coming out to be gainfully employed, we will have gone a long way in solving some of the poverty issues that we have faced.
“So, we want to take the opportunity to reach out first to neighbouring countries — West and Central Africa, and the rest of Africa. In our airport, we recently landed a wide-bodied A330. It is exactly the same aircraft that Virgin Atlantic uses to service their Lagos-London route. So, we can go anywhere in the world from Ibadan airport.
“We have done all the hard work. So, our vision for sustainable development of our state is well on the way. We believe that being part of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement as a sub-national and the first sub-national on the continent of Africa to achieve that, will give us access to great economic opportunities.”
Earlier in her welcome address, the Special Adviser to the Governor on AfCFTA and International Trade, Ms Tlhaselo, appreciated the governor for his effort in making Oyo State the first sub-national, not just in Nigeria, but in the entire African continent, to sign on to the agreement.
She stressed that the governor’s visionary leadership has led to massive economic development in the state.
She explained that the post-launch engagement is a statutory administrative process that follows the launch of the implementation strategy, which pronounced Oyo State as a party to the AfCFTA to engage within the African continent on the agreement’s framework.
Tlhaselo added that the implementation strategy is a legal instrument that would allow Oyo State to engage with other states globally in trading with access to bilateral relations and international trade agreements, thereby positioning it as an able partner to many African countries.
