Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has urged the China Development Bank to increase its investment in Nigeria to $1 billion.
The Governor made the request at a meeting with the bank’s President, Mr. Quyang Weimin, while speaking on Lagos State’s infrastructural needs and areas of collaboration with the Bank in Beijing yesterday.
A statement explained that the Governor, who was on investment drive to China, was received by the entire management team of the bank at its headquarters.
In his interaction with the bank’s management, Sanwo-Olu hinted that “there are huge developmental projects in Lagos the bank could support the State in developing”.
“We are determined to build a 21st century economy, and infrastructural development is one of the key deliverables for a modern economic system and society to run efficiently and effectively.
“With functional infrastructure, businesses will thrive and the city will be more habitable. So, as a government, we are talking to you now about our needs and the areas of intervention where we require your support”.
“Even though I know that you have to consider a lot of factors as a bank, I can assure you that you cannot get it wrong with Lagos and Nigeria as a whole. Lagos is Africa’s seventh largest economy and the most populous on the continent. The state has enjoyed political stability for 20 years and has consistently grown across key economic indices”.
“If you consider these facts, you agree with me that your risk analysis will favour Investing in our State. As a development bank committed to supporting developing nations, I am certain that your involvement in our 4th mainland bridge construction, railway projects, road construction around our free trade zone and our water projects will fittingly support the attainment of your organisational goal,” the Lagos State Governor said.
In his response, Weimin said: “I have always had confidence in Lagos State and Nigeria, but your presentation today has increased my level of confidence in Lagos State and Nigeria,” adding that, “I am particularly happy that Lagos State has a vibrant and visionary leader like you who is ready to take the State forward.”
He added: “I have deep interest in what you are saying and your ideas. And we look forward to supporting you. We are different from commercial banks because we are focused on development and greater good of humanity. We give loans at the lowest cost and very long loan maturity period.
“Nigerians are our brothers. Our relationship with Lagos will be as reliable as the cooperation between Nigeria and China. Lagos is politically and economically stable, so the risk of investing in the state may not be high. We are therefore enthused to put our weight as the world’s largest development bank by asset, standing at $2 trillion, loan balance of $150 billion, over 100, 000 employees with a loan balance of $200 per staff behind your greater Lagos goal”.
- Pierson Supports Plateau’s 5-Year Strategic Planning Execution
In a bid to develop a long-term view to strategic planning for Plateau State, the Executive Governor of the state, Rt. Hon Simon Bako Lalong, recently organised a four-day retreat to unveil the broad vision for his second term in office and to kick off the policy execution for the state.
At the session, the Plateau State Government made a commitment to expand investment in what it considered areas of strength, which included tourism, agriculture and mining, in order to boost job creation, revenue generation and the long-term sustainable development of the state.
A statement explained that leading the functional level strategy and retreat sessions was H. Pierson Associates Limited, a leading indigenous consulting firm in Nigeria with expertise in Public Governance Advisory and Strategic Consulting.
The retreat which held at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, had in attendance members of the State Executive Council (SEC), Permanent Secretaries and Heads of key government agencies and departments.
Themed ‘New Imperatives for Sustaining the Rescue Agenda in the Next Level’, the Governor and members of his government made a commitment to focus less on Federal Allocation for the funding of capital projects.
“Instead, the government will aim to improve internally generated revenue within the state,” the statement quoted him to have said.
Executive Vice Chairman, H. Pierson Associates, Mrs. Eileen Shaiyen, while speaking on the success of the retreat stated that it was important for governments at all levels – federal, state and local – to engage in such strategic long-term planning in order to achieve tangible growth in Nigeria.
She added: “H. Pierson Associates has been deliberate about offering public governance advisory and consulting services to governments because we believe this is of crucial importance to the delivery of sustainable development in the states and the country as a whole.
“This includes state medium and long-term governance strategy designs, restructuring of MDAs, conducting peer governance reviews, retreats facilitations, research and more. The better our Governments are able to perform, the faster our economic growth. With Plateau and other states we are working with, we expect to begin seeing the results in the short to mid-term.”
According to the statement, to ensure the retreat was robust, facilitators and resource persons invited included representatives of the federal government and regulatory agencies, doyens of industries and academia, the development community, the diplomatic corps, religious leaders and security agencies.
Old Mutual Appoints New MD
Old Mutual Limited (OML) has announced the appointment of Mr Olalekan Oyinlade, as the new Managing Director for its General Insurance business in Nigeria. The appointment took effect from October 2019. Oyinlade, joined the company from Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc, where he was an Executive Director, Operations responsible for the overall business development and technical operations of the firm.
Oyinlade has 22 years experience in various insurance roles including Chief Underwriter, Reinsurance Manager, among others. He specialises in direct and treaty reinsurance underwriting, commercial claims handling, as well as extensive client and brokers relationship management. A graduate of University of Lagos, Oyinlade started his professional career with Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc where he acquired considerable experience in general business underwriting and reinsurance operations.
He joined AXA Mansard Insurance Plc in February 2004 and left in 2017 as Chief Underwriting Officer with additional responsibility for the company’s distribution activities in the public & infrastructure sectors and management of the life and savings portfolio. Oyinlade, is an associate of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (ACIIN) and that of Nigeria Council of Registered Insurance Brokers of Nigeria (NCRIB) as well as a member of Chartered Insurance Institute of London (CII).
