Various activities are expected to commence soon in Akure, the Ondo state capital as the state governor, Mr. Lucky Ayedatiwa has given the nod to the establishment of a Diaspora Smart City tagged Green Economy Initiative.
This was the outcome of the weekly meeting of the State Executive Council (Exco ) held at the governor’s office on Monday 22nd July, 2024.
The project is expected to be a tourism hub for the Southwest and a vehicle for the region’s development. It is a complete diversification of the economy, especially when artificial intelligence is moving ahead of crude oil as a source of revenue.
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The Commissioner for Regional Integration and Diaspora Relations, Prince Boye Ologbese, who presented the memo at the exco, stressed that the project will open up the State Capital, Akure and the Akure Airport to other major cities within Nigeria and the entire world in the context of global tourism business.
He added: “Also, Diasporans and foreigners will have the ample opportunity to own befitting edifices such as holiday apartments, etc. The Green economy initiative aspect of the project is to tackle the climate change issue which is affecting the entire world.
The idea is to increase our IGR and promote social economic growth through (DDI) Direct Diaspora investment initiative and create massive employment for our teeming youths”.
“This school of thought has made us understand that the government cannot do business, but should create platforms and provide an enabling environment for businesses to grow. We are not selling land to investors who want to invest in our tourism business. The project is (PPP) Public Private Partnership, which (SPV) Special Purpose Vehicle has adopted a mechanism to accommodate all the potential investors on the Smart City. We want to use our blue economy to complement our green economy, marketing our Deep Seaport as a tourist destination Port to promote tourism business in the region”, he added.
Under our Regional business Integration , Ondo and Ekiti State, respectively , has agreed to push the Diaspora Smart City tagged Green economy initiative project through DAWN Commission, NIDCOM, NIDO, NDIS and make it a reality.
Hon. Ologbese recalled the unflinching efforts of the late Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), the former Governor of the State who had the vision to upgrade Ondo State from a civil service state to an industrialised and economically-viable State.
The proposed deep Seaport in the coastal areas of Ondo State is another potential to place the state on a pedestal of competitive economic growth.
