Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of Ondo State has approached investors across the country and the world to invest in different segments of the economy with a promise to provide an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
Speaking at the 3rd anniversary of the Dejavu Hotel and Suites in Akure, the state capital, Aiyedatiwa said his administration has identified tourism as one of the areas where the state has huge potential.
The governor said his administration would continue to attract genuine investments into the state noting that those who have invested in the hospitality business in the state were playing a crucial role in the state’s economic growth and development.
Aiyedatiwa, represented by the Administrative Secretary of the State Ministry of Works, Engr. Akin Omotola, said Dejavu Hotel and Suites is one of the hospitality businesses that has given the state pride of place in the country.
Aiyedatiwa encouraged other entrepreneurs who have their capital in various places to come and develop their economic potential in a manner that the state would be great in years to come.
Appreciating the role of entrepreneurs like the owner of the Dejavu Hotel and Suites in the state, Governor Aiyedatiwa said, “Let me also thank you on behalf of the government and the people of the state for these great massive investments.
“Some would have loved to invest in Abuja, Lagos, or Port Harcourt where the rate of investment would have been high.”
According to him, “You have come and you have raised the bar of hospitality here. Raise the bar in the sense that you have set new standards. The chairman is the son of the soil and he decided to also be part of the development of this land.
“We are grateful for the fact that if you look at the place, like when the guest lecturer was speaking, he mentioned the fact that the hospitality business is highly labour intensive.
“And so you can imagine the number of people that have been taken out of labour markets. There are no hotels in this town that have supported the entertainment industry as much as you have been doing.
“This, to me, also is a great feat. It is a great feat in the sense that these are people who are living in the entertainment industry. And as the Professor said, the entertainment industry is also providing into the GDP. As a matter of fact, I know that it’s providing a lot to our GDP. And so we also want to thank you for this. Let me also go into the area of food and drinks.
“You can imagine the food and the drinks and the food alone that has been harvested in the state. And you can imagine somebody supplying this place with crates of eggs in a day.
“You can imagine somebody supplying this place with tomatoes in a day. You can imagine somebody supplying this place with garlic in a day. And all these are being consumed when value has been added to it. And somebody somewhere is being assured of patronage.
“And so it is, not only being assured of patronage but also wanting to stay in that industry of agriculture because it knows that its patronage is sure.
“And, of course, we have an agrarian economy here, which is being supported by industries like this. And so we cannot thank you enough for the development you have brought to the state.”
