Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma, on Friday, declared that his administration has made it possible for local economies to work in the state.
He said that unlike before, when only the economies in the city centres were working, he had changed the narrative by laying the foundations, backing enterprise and investing in the people, thus stimulating local economies.
Uzodimma spoke in Lagos as the guest lecturer at the inaugural National Policy Dialogue of the Lagos Country Club with Government Leaders.
He said his administration had long realised that a local economy that gives young people a stake in peace is among the best security investments a government can make, hence the foundation it had laid in the state.
The governor noted that to attract private capital, the government must provide the basics, including infrastructure, human capital and power.
He disclosed that his administration had since built more than 130 roads, provided energy sustainability, digitalised land administration in the state and, through the Skillup Imo project, trained more than 65,000 young people in software development, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and related fields, with digital skills in all the 27 local government areas of the state.
According to him, through the Skillup Imo project and the state’s wider digital economy programmes, the administration has created more than 80,000 jobs and income-earning opportunities.
The governor also said that with the state paying the highest minimum wage of N104,000, the economies of the local governments and rural communities have been boosted.
“A well-paid public workforce is one of the quickest ways to put money into circulation at the grassroots,” he argued.
He attributed the economic success recorded by the state to the reforms by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, saying that resources reaching the states have substantially increased since the President removed the subsidy on petroleum products.
X-raying the theme of the lecture, THE FUTURE IS LOCAL: STIMULATING GRASSROOTS ECONOMIES FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH, Uzodimma described it as both timely and significant.
He said Nigeria’s growth would be sustainable only when it is built on the strength of its many local economies.
He said, “Government must lay the foundations, and private capital, much of which is represented here, must turn them into productive enterprises, jobs and prosperity.”
He paid glowing tributes to the Lagos Country Club for organising the lecture and appointing him as the maiden guest lecturer.
“I thank the President of the Club, Mr Seyi Adewunmi, the Board of Trustees and the members of Lagos Country Club for inviting me. To give the first lecture in a new series at an institution which has been part of Lagos life since 1949 is an honour I do not take lightly,” Uzodimma submitted.
