The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Thursday said the state was ready to do business with Turkish investors.
Sanwo-Olu said this on Thursday during a Roundtable with a delegation of the Turkey-Nigeria Business Council, in Lagos.
He said there were market and business opportunities for Turkish investors in the areas of transportation, bus rapid system, power and tourism, while the state was also a preferred destination for technology.
The governor said that Lagos remained the real economic hub of Nigeria and the fifth largest city in Africa, and the largest investment destination for investors.
According to him, Lagos is the centre of excellence where business can flourish and investment opportunities abound.
He said that with its high human capital development and plan to have additional two deep sea ports in Lekki and Badagry, the state would help solve the traffic challenge.
”Lagos has lost being the capital, but it still remains the economic nerve centre of the country; it’s not only that, it is the fifth largest economy in Africa; if Lagos were a country, it would be number five in the whole of Africa.
”We also speak of 10 per cent of the total population of Nigeria, who reside here, in a total land area less than one per cent of the size of Nigeria; in fact, it’s just about 0.4 per cent of the size of Nigeria.
”However, this is where a lot of the businesses also take-off. We have a lot of history in Lagos, Lagos economy, in terms of manufacturing, controls about 20 to 30 per cent of all the manufacturing in the economy of the country.
”In terms of international air travel, it controls about 60 to 70 per cent of all international goods, about 70 per cent in the country, so, in terms of numbers, it speaks to a larger nerve for the country,” he said.
Earlier, the Head of the Turkey-Nigeria Business Council’s delegation, Mr Haken Ozel, said that the meeting was aimed at expanding business opportunities between Turkey and Lagos.
Ozel said it was to deepen economic relationship between Turkey and Nigeria.
He said that part of the areas of investment would include food and agriculture, energy, tourism, rail and water transportation.
