Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has
called for investors in diverse area, especially for the construction of modular
refineries, to come and invest in the state.
Obiano, who is currently in the city of Orange, New
Jersey, United States of America in an address presented to mark the signing of
a mutually beneficial agreement with the city of Orange at the city’s township municipal building
last Monday, which was obtained by the media in Awka, said the state was the
safest in Nigeria, and has also grown to be among most populated in the
country.
The governor said: “Anambra is the 10th most
populous state in Nigeria with a population of 6.5million people and a
population density of 860 per square kilometre. And in the past five years, we
have been Nigeria’s safest state with crime rate at its lowest in living
memory.
“We have the largest retail market in West Africa.
With an economy of N3.8 trillion, Anambra State has the lowest poverty rate in
Nigeria with $2.295 per capita, and if the state were an independent country,
our GDP per capita would have been 17th in Africa. Anambra State would have been
ahead of Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Tanzania and Rwanda among
others.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is no exaggeration to say
that Anambra State is the best place to locate an industry in Nigeria at the
moment. We have one of the highest literacy rates in the country, we offer
access to the largest retail market in West Africa and we have the largest crop
of experienced middlemen and suppliers with sufficient expertise to move goods
across Africa.
“We have been ranked as the most transparent and
accountable state in Nigeria for having complied with International Public
Sector Accounting System standards,” Obiano boasted.
He said the state was looking for partners that
would help it exploit its natural resources, which he listed to include 40
trillion standard cubic feet of gas that has not yet been touched; partners for
the establishment of modular refineries, power generation, agriculture,
agro-allied industries and industrial parks.
According to the governor, “We need partners that
will exploit these rich reserves of gas for our mutual benefits. We are also
looking for partners in education, healthcare delivery, mass transit and in
leisure and tourism sector.
“Anambra State is at its finest moment in history.
Our youths are doing exploits thereby making our country proud in science and
technology. Our home-bred entrepreneurs are investing heavily in different
sectors in the state.
“This is therefore a historic moment for our state,
and I believe for the City of Orange as well.”
Obiano told the gathering, which included officials
of Orange City and Anambra State indigenes resident in the city that he
particularly chose the city because he had heard a lot about the city, its beauty
and expertise in diverse areas, and had looked forward to it.
“This is one visit I have looked forward to. I have
two reasons for that. Firstly, I have been told that Orange is a beautiful city
with a lot of beautiful and friendly people. Secondly, I have also heard that
this is one of the cities where we can find the expertise and wise counsel that
we need to develop Anambra State.
“I am saying this because what Anambra State might
not have in cutting edge technology and expertise, we have in human and
material resources, and we therefore urge you to invest in the state,” the
governor wooed the Orange city.
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