The Oyo State Government is set to organise a stakeholders’ consultative forum to promote trade and investment in the state.
The consultative stakeholders’ forum, scheduled to hold on Wednesday, 18 December, 2024 at the International Conference Centre, Ibadan, is part of the state’s efforts to attract international investors, expand its economy and bridge the gap between local and international traders in continental free trade, Chief Abiola Alli, a member of the event’s organising committee, said on Monday.
Addressing a pre-event press conference on behalf of the committee, at the Governor’s Office Briefing Room, Alli said the consultative forum is in line with Governor Seyi Makinde’s Oyo State Roadmap for Sustainable Development, 2023-2027.
He said that the forum would help to address some of the trade policies in the state and also serve as an avenue to boost the internally generated revenue and also attract foreign exchange.
Alli, who noted that the Oyo State Government is among a few states that have keyed into the business opportunities provided by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), added that the AfCFTA would project the state to other countries on the continent for more business partnerships.
He stated further that about thirty-six representatives of African embassies would participate in the forum, while traders, farmers, policy makers, development partners are also expected, calling on residents of the state to attend the consultative stakeholders’ forum to add value to their businesses.
He said: “We intend to hold a consultative forum and the whole idea is that if you want to comply with AfCFTA, and want to come up with a strategy, you need to relate with the stakeholders.
“So, we have invited the stakeholders to this particular event and we have the traders who are going to be the core drivers of this strategy. We have people from the formal sector and the policy makers, who are also going to be part of us.
“We also have development partners from the AfDB. We have people that are readily going to make things work and all of these people are going to be there.
“At the event, we are going to have panel discussions. We have six panels that are going to discuss, because we want to craft out a strategy for AfCFTA and a number of topics are going to be discussed. Some people will discuss how prepared the Oyo State Government is regarding the AfCFTA programme and the value proposition in Oyo State.
“We also have the importance of partnership and collaboration. We have selected people that will give us what we want in terms of robust conversation. The event will be live-streamed so that people across the world can be part of the event virtually.”
Other members of the committee are Ms Neo Theodore Tlhaselo, Chairperson/Special Adviser to Governor Makinde on AfFCTA and International Trade; Mr Kunle Olusina, Deputy Chairman; Mr M.A Bolarinwa; Compliance Officer; Mr Falana Bolarinwa, Head of Logistics and Budget; Mr Falomo Saheed, Assistant Secretary and Mr Olawale Olanrewaju, secretary.