2nd October, 2014
Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta
Ogun state governor, Ibikunle Amosun has expressed happiness over the World Bank Group report titled “Doing Business in Nigeria 2014” in which the state was named as “one of the top reforming states in 2014.”
Amosun, who briefed members of the State Executive Council and body of Permanent Secretaries on the report today, thanked all officials of the state government for their contributions to the ongoing development in the state which had attracted the attention of the World Bank.
Ogun state, according to the report, “made significant improvement as it was one of lowest ranked overall performers in both 2008 and 2010 and now it is one of the top performing states in 2014,” the report said.
The report further stated that “Ogun improved on three of the four Doing Business indicators benchmark (as) the construction permitting system was radically overhauled, with the state government authorities decentralizing the approval system and a new committee monitoring delays.”
In his briefing to top members of the government, the governor explained that the achievement was made possible through the hard work of many ministries, departments and agencies, whose officials worked tirelessly to improve on the way business is conducted in the state.
According to the governor, “the release of the report on 29 September 2014, the same day I was conferred with the National honour of the Commander of the Order of Niger (CON), made my joy very full and I was thrilled with the report which represents an international endorsement for the ongoing Mission to Rebuild Ogun State”, Amosun said.
The governor further enjoined members of the government to be aware that recording success could be easier to achieve but that the bigger challenge was how to sustain the success.
“We must work harder. All of us must not drop the ball. The indicators used in the report showed that we will need to work on one of them which is enforcing contracts and they used an example of a project they financed before this administration came to office.
“Let us ensure that we improve on all the indicators by the time they will produce 2016 report. This is a collective achievement and we have a joint responsibility to sustain it,” he said.
Amosun noted that officials of Ogun state can now travel abroad and discuss the developments in their state at international fora and in discussions with investors, development partners and financial institutions.
He expressed hope that more investors will access the World Bank report and that will renew their confidence and interest in taking their business to Ogun.
This, according to the governor, will lead to massive employment for the people. “When many key opinion leaders repeatedly say it that things are getting better in Ogun state, this report is a confirmation that our efforts as government is yielding positive fruits.”
The World Bank reports noted that Ogun state improved in the areas of issuance of building permit, involvement of professionals in the issuance of environmental impact assessment, on the spot issuance of certificate of completion immediately after inspection, easy access to stamp duty for business registration in Abeokuta by entrepreneurs, ease of obtaining business permit and the digitisation of property records with the aim of enabling electronic title searches, among others.