Kano Woos Investors with Tax Incentives 

Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje has said that the state is ready to grant land and tax incentives to investors in order to revolutionise agriculture and promote investments in various sectors.
Ganduje said this at the just concluded 2017 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos with the theme, ‘African Business: Penetrating through Institution Building.’
“We have decided to make land acquisition very easy and speedy. A lot of red-tapism and a lot of bureaucracies and we decided to replace that ministry with the Bureau for Land Management,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), quoted Ganduje to have said.
He said that Kano was working to boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), adding that President Muhammadu Buhari was doing a lot to tackle insurgency in the north-eastern part of the country.
Ganduje said the state government had made huge investments in securing lives and property in the state through procurement of vehicles, communication gadgets and trackers to check insecurity.
“Kano State presently enjoys very peaceful atmosphere that would encourage any serious local and foreign investor to come to the state and derive the benefits of the efforts made so far by the state government in the area of security.
“Economic and social activities are now going on in all the 44 local government areas of the state without any hindrance.
“The state is not a good place for Boko Haram, kidnappers, armed robbers, rappers, cattle rustlers and other peace disturbers.
“Peace and tranquility are some of the key words that project Kano State as excellent location for investors to invest,’’ he said.
The governor said that the state had the largest forest reserve in the country and to prevent terrorists hijacking the space, the state government had converted the forest into a military training ground.
Ganduje explained that micro, small and medium scale enterprises in the state were strong and diverse, with an estimated 1.6 million businesses and enterprises across all economic activities that contributed about 70 per cent output and employment.
He listed some resources of the state being worked upon to restore the state back to its former glory as one of the leading economies in Africa to include textiles and apparels, plastic and rubber, paper and paper products, leather, food and beverages and basic industrial products.
The governor said that the state’s huge population of about 15 million people provided market opportunities, in addition to a history of contact with strategic markets in West, Central and Northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Europe and the Far East.
Ganduje said that he had strengthened the legal system he met in the state to deal with issues of economic crime.
He said that the state had computerised land operations to remove bureaucracy in the process of land acquisition and processing of documents, saying that, the state also offered some other free incentives.
“We have recently given free land and tax/levy relieves to some new companies, notable amongst them are Black Rhino/Dangote Group, which will construct 100MW Solar Plant at the cost of 150 million dollars,” he said.
Ganduje said that St Meer International Investment and Management Company, would invest 120 million dollars to finance a similar project in the state.
He explained that during the colonial era and after the nation’s independence, the state was known for the production in large quantities of groundnuts (groundnut pyramids), hides and skins, sesame, soybean, cotton, garlic, gum arabic and chili pepper.
The governor said that agriculture was the mainstay of the state’s economy with its farmers producing most of the grains consumed in the country and neighbouring African countries.
He highlighted the tourism potential and other investment opportunities which he urged the Lagos State Government to collaborate with the Kano State government to speed up economic development in the nation.
Ganduje said that some development experts had already invested about N65 billion on industries in the state.
“Agriculture occupies a prominent position in the state’s economy as employer of labour, provider of food and incomes for households and supplier of raw materials to industries.
“Approximately 75 per cent of the populace is directly or indirectly engaged in some form of agricultural activity- including crop, livestock and fishery production.
“Crop production with an estimated value of N721.2 billion, which constitutes more than 50 per cent of Gross State Product, is practicable in Kano state.
“Current annual production of grains exceeds four million tones,’’ the governor said.
He said that the state had good road networks and recently signed an signed an MoU with a Chinese firm on the possibility of Kano City Light rail project

Related Articles