Obaseki sets N60bn revenue target for 2023

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has set an Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) target of N60 billion for the state in 2023.

He made this known at the ongoing Alaghodaro Investment Summit in Benin City, the state capital.

The summit is organised yearly in partnership with the private sector, to mark the anniversary of Governor Godwin Obaseki in office and showcase the progress being recorded in transforming the state into an investment haven.

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This year’s edition, to mark the governor’s 6th anniversary, themed “Edo’s Transformation: Partnerships, Resilience, Impact,” is taking place between Friday, November 11 and Sunday, November 13, 2022.

Experts at the event predicted a positive economic outlook in Edo on the back of the Benin Enterprise Park, the Cultural District, Modular Refinery, Ossiomo Power Company and other numerous transformative reforms and projects pursued by the state government.

Obaseki, in his address, said the state’s growth will come from leveraging its comparative advantage and exploring opportunities in culture, forestry, manufacturing, agriculture and technology, among other sectors of the state’s economy, to drive development.

The governor said, “We see growth ahead of us and this growth is going to come from certain endowments that we have which most people don’t have. Our culture – people must come and see us and admire what our forebears built. Our forestry assets – the world is talking about net zero carbon and we have something to contribute to the environment and environmental economy.

“Manufacturing is the way to go. Edo has the largest onshore gas reserve in Nigeria with most of our other gas in the swamps and the offshore. With that energy source, there’s no reason we cannot generate enough energy to attract investors to drive industrialization. Agriculture; that’s what we grew up with.”