Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has called on Private Investors to take advantage of the enabling environment provided by the State Government in investing in the State.
Speaking while commissioning the newly constructed Udoh Road and opening of Randekhi Royal Hotel, Gold Wing in GRA Benin City, yesterday, Oshiomhole said, Edo State is unarguably the safest State in the South- South and indeed the country
Oshiomhole said, “Part of what we have tried to do in our Urban renewal program is not only meant to deal with the flooding crisis of Benin, to commit resources to building roads and making Benin City a modern city, our hope is that when we have made some progress in this regard, the Private sector will respond appropriately by taking advantage of the enabling environment we have created to invest in various aspects of the economy of this state.
“I therefore want to see this your investment as one of those clear response to the changes that has taken place in this great state.
The Governor said his administration has opened up the city through constructions of modern roads, infrastructures and other social amenities which has resulted in massive inflow of visitors and investors to the state on daily basis.
He said, “What has changed is that this government has given people confidence and by some of the interventions we had in Benin, and in other parts of the state, more people now come into Benin and out of Benin without fear. Also, in spite of the fact that we have our own share of insecurity, this state compared to our neighboring states and other state in the country, unarguably this is the safest place in the entire South-South if not in the entire country”.
The Governor continued, “At this time when people of little heart are running, you have shown that this country remains the first stop for any investor that wants to create wealth, create jobs and add to the development of our great country. Where some people of little minds have voted with their feet, you have not only made investment, you are reinvesting what you have earned over the period to create employment for Edo people and even for those that are not from Edo State.
“By this project you have shown that you have remarkable confidence not only in the future of this great state but in our great country. In Nigeria today we have rich people who have no business address. They are very rich, they spend lavishly but if you ask them how do you make your money, they can’t explain and they are not ready even to invest part of that money so that other people can have jobs”, he said.
Oshiomhole continued, “I am extremely delighted that we have Edo people like you who recognize that you can contribute to the growth and the development of this country by making huge investments such as this. There are some who believe that the best business in town is to buy and sell because with that one you can take your file and run if the going is tough but with edifice like this you have to be on ground to grow your business”.
In a welcome address read by the General Manager on behalf of the Chairman, Randekhi Royal Hotel, Chief Andrew Ebalunode JP, said “In doing business, we have also come to identify the need to give back to the society in partnership with the government in fulfilling the yearnings and aspirations of our immediate environment.
“Udoh Street had been for decades, an inaccessible street, abandoned by successive administrations albeit one of the many connecting streets in the centre of the Government Reservation Area where traffic have since quadrupled. We undertook the construction of this road, involving extensive sand filling, earthwork, stone base compacting and concrete stone laying and it has since become the preferred route for many commuters in GRA”, he said.
