Edo State Commissioner for Mining and Energy, Hon. Enaholo Ojeifoh, has disclosed plans by government to attract more investments to the oil/gas, mining and energy sector of the state.
Hon. Ojeifoh made this known when he met with the Managing Director of Edo State Investment Promotion Office (ESIPO), Kelvin Uwaibi, to discuss his commitment to attract more investors to the state in line with the core values of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration.
According to the commissioner, “No investor will be willing to invest in any sector without a database. It’s a high risk if investors are unsure of who will consume their products. Therefore, we are currently creating a database for all businesses and available mineral resources in the state.
Any potential investor can access this database to obtain the necessary details and information required by them. For instance, an investor interested in building a refinery in Edo State should be able to find out the number and locations of fuel stations in the state. This applies to other sectors that fall within the purview of the ministry as well.
This will serve as a checklist for real-time investors. We are not wasting time on this; we will be launching the website in a couple of days, and all information regarding the mining, oil/gas and energy sector in Edo State will be readily accessible.”
Hon. Ojeifoh sued for the agency’s collaboration to build on the efforts made so far by the governor of the state to bring in more investors.
He added, “Investors are coming in the area of renewable energy, mining and oil/gas. We want to work with your agency to actualise this vision. Mr. Obaseki’s vision is to see that Edo is developed and more jobs are created. The Governor has already created the enabling environment for business to thrive.”
The Managing Director, ESIPO, Kelvin Uwaibi, who shared the success recorded thus far by his agency as well as the areas that require further attention, assured his full cooperation to ensure the governor’s vision is fully realized within the ministry.
He also commended the commissioner for starting on a positive note.
In another development, Hon. Ojeifoh and Uwaibi received an American based investor and CEO of AGIC Energy, Oladuran Alabi and his team at the Ease of Doing Business Secretariat in Benin City.
AGIC Energy was established in 2005 in the United States of America, with offices in Germany, United Kingdom, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Zambia, Panama, Tanzania, among others. Their interest in Edo State is to provide power/electricity through renewable energy.
Alabi disclosed their success stories in various continents, noting that their portable power station can be best used in rural areas where there is no power grid.
Alabi, who was engaged by Hon. Ojeifoh and Uwaibi, was told that Edo State has already gone ahead of many other states in terms of power generation, with OSSIOMO project and others.
