BY MOSHOOD ISAMOTU / LAGOS
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Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has asserted that the potential of the Ota Industrial Belt in Ogun State, if optimized, can revolutionize the country’s industrialization drive, which will captivate the world.
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Sharing the same thought, the Olota of Ota, Professor Adeyemi Obalanlege, also believed that with proper infrastructural upgrades, targeted business incentives, and sustained investor confidence, Ota City can be a major driver and jumpstart Nigeria’s ambitious aspiration of a trillion-dollar economy
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The duo expressed their perspectives on Tuesday at the Ota Investment Summit and Fair themed “Industrial Revolution: Potential and Opportunities from Ota to the Rest of the World” in Ota, Ogun State.
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According to Senator Shettima (who was represented by Dr. Tope Fasua Ota, Special Adviser on Economic Affairs in the Office of the Vice President), Ota city, with its strategic location and robust concentration of manufacturing assets, is perfectly positioned to be at the vanguard of the nation’s industrial revolution.
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‘Ota is more than just a city; it is a crucible of industry, a veritable engine of our nation’s economic progress, and a historical emblem of our enduring entrepreneurial spirit. For decades, it has stood as a beacon of manufacturing excellence, a nexus where raw materials are transformed into finished goods, and where innovation finds a fertile ground to flourish, he stated.
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Senator Shettima emphasized that what is required is harnessing the robust foundations laid in Ota and exploring its energy and dynamism to galvanize a new era of industrialization that will reverberate across Nigeria.
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The Vice President highlighted the Tinubu administration’s bold reforms, including the removal of fuel subsidies and the rationalisation of the foreign exchange regime, as strategic moves to unshackle the economy from inefficiencies while calling on industrialists and investors to take advantage of emerging opportunities in advanced manufacturing, green energy, and agribusiness, stressing that the Renewed Hope Agenda is targeting a $1 trillion economy.
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Obalanlege expressed the confidence that the Ota Industrial Belt’s proximity to global shipping routes, airports, skilled labour, and raw materials will continue to make it a magnet for industrial expansion and remain a leading contributor to national prosperity.
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The Olota of Ota explained that to unlock the full capacity of Ota unmatched potential, greater attention should be directed at road rehabilitation, reliable power supply, modern logistics, and business-friendly policies which will significantly boost Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) through increased manufacturing output for domestic and export markets, greater foreign direct investment inflows, expansion of SMEs into regional value chains, job creation and skill development, revenues and economic diversification.
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He further explained that Ota stands as one of Nigeria’s largest industrial concentrations, home to over 500 multinational giants and resilient homegrown companies across manufacturing, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, packaging, food and beverages, and holds the ace to Nigeria’s industrial power house.
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The Chairman of Ota Parapo Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (OPCCIMA), Dr Kayode Bowale, in his paper, called for a strong partnership between the public and private sectors to provide the business enablers and incentives in the axis, such as infrastructure, research and development, local content utilization, and enforcement of the use of made in Nigeria goods.
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