The Edo State Government has showcased investment opportunities in its tourism and cultural sector at the 2nd Blue Cube International Arts Festival Exhibition, held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The state government delegation was led by Commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Osaze Osemwegie-Ero. Arts works from Edo State featured prominently for the first time in China at the festival, while delegates from the state shared cultural and artistic experiences with other renowned artists from over 11 countries.
The Edo State Government has showcased investment opportunities in its tourism and cultural sector at the 2nd Blue Cube International Arts Festival Exhibition, held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. In another development Edo governor Godwin Obaseki says he has so far created 157,000 jobs out of the 200,000 he promised the state. Obaseki made the disclosure in his speech at the 2019 Alaghodaro Youth Summit in Benin. “I have done what many politicians will not do; during my campaign, I promised to create a minimum 200,000 jobs within my first term, through the Edo Skills Development Agency (Edojobs). Politicians won’t give themselves such targets in case they don’t meet it. If government gives the youths the needed support, you will see that 200,000 jobs will be a piece of cake.
In China the state government delegation was led by Commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Osaze Osemwegie-Ero. Arts works from Edo State featured prominently for the first time in China at the festival, while delegates from the state shared cultural and artistic experiences with other renowned artists from over 11 countries. Head, Edo State Investment Promotion Office (ESIPO), Mr. Kelvin Uwaibi who was part of the state’s delegation, said the state government’s team held a business meeting with the aim of attracting investments in key sectors of the economy, adding that in attendance at the business meeting were business Chief Executive Officers from Zhejiang Province. He said Edo State will leverage on the opportunity provided by the meeting to benefit from the bilateral trade relationship between Nigeria and China, which has reached $8.6 billion between January to June 2019 with 20.7 percent yearly growth. He said the business executives at the meeting made commitments on building investment relationships between businesses in Zhejiang Province and businesses in Edo State.
Uwaibi described Hangzhou as the home to the Chinese tech giant, Ali Baba, adding, “The interaction with the local community would help in fostering cultural and economic ties between China and Edo State, as the state hopes to attract tourism investors from China in line with Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration’s drive of harnessing and developing cultural heritage and tourism industry.” Among the Edo State Government’s delegates at the meeting are the Edo State House of Assembly member, Hon. Marcus Onobun; Hon. Osamwonyi Atu, Enotie Ogbebor, among others.
Obaseki said “today, I am glad and happy that at the last count, we have created 157,000 jobs in Edo,” he said. The governor said that facts about the jobs were available for anyone to verify.
“It is not just me saying it; you can find this in a publication – Business Day. They undertook an independent evaluation and told me that the skills development agency was able to create 45, 000 through job tracking. From the records, 3,500 jobs were created through jobs matching and placement, 23,000 jobs through Edo Innovation Jobs, 1,300 jobs from Edo food and agricculture cluster, and 15,000 jobs from Edo Production Centre. We have also created 12,000 jobs from the National Social Investment Programme, 10,000 from the Ministry of Wealth Creation, and 32,000 indirect jobs. The data is all there and you can verify them,” he said.
The governor said that his administration was out to change the narrative and mindset that education was all about certificate. “The introduction of Edojobs was to help the youth to retrace their direction in life,” he said. Obaseki assured the people that government was keen on improving their standards of living, adding that human development had remained the focus because that was key to growth and prosperity.
Head, Edo State Investment Promotion Office (ESIPO), Mr. Kelvin Uwaibi who was part of the state’s delegation, said the state government’s team held a business meeting with the aim of attracting investments in key sectors of the economy, adding that in attendance at the business meeting were business Chief Executive Officers from Zhejiang Province. He said Edo State will leverage on the opportunity provided by the meeting to benefit from the bilateral trade relationship between Nigeria and China, which has reached $8.6 billion between January to June 2019 with 20.7 percent yearly growth. He said the business executives at the meeting made commitments on building investment relationships between businesses in Zhejiang Province and businesses in Edo State.
Uwaibi described Hangzhou as the home to the Chinese tech giant, Ali Baba, adding, “The interaction with the local community would help in fostering cultural and economic ties between China and Edo State, as the state hopes to attract tourism investors from China in line with Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration’s drive of harnessing and developing cultural heritage and tourism industry.” Among the Edo State Government’s delegates at the meeting are the Edo State House of Assembly member, Hon. Marcus Onobun; Hon. Osamwonyi Atu, Enotie Ogbebor, among others.
Omoh Gabriel
