Lagos State is set to join the league of pencil producers in the world as a pencil manufacturing company has been given the nod by the Akinwunmi Ambode Administration to pioneer production of the age-long writing tool in the state.

This was made known on Thursday by Prof. Ademola Abass, Special Adviser, Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment, at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, Ikeja, during the Y2016 Ministerial Press Briefing of the Lagos State Government as part of activities marking the one year in Office of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

Prof. Abass, who emphasised that the State Government would only approve investment proposals that are beneficial to Lagosians, said the proposal for pencil manufacturing by Gold Anchor Investment Ltd. was approved by the State Government coupled with the facilitation of an expanse of land in the Epe axis of the state for the company to build its factory.

The Special Adviser to the Governor noted that it was surprising that until now the rest of West Africa depended on the importation of pencil to meet their demands as none of such manufacturing outfit existed in the entire sub-region.

On number of investment coming to Lagos, Prof. Abass stated that Lagos had received 162 investment propositions worth $43 billion. He added that the state continued to get attention from investors in different sectors, especially ICT, manufacturing, environment, infrastructure, real estate, tourism and transportation, among others.

Other approved investment proposals out of the 162 include the transformation of Oshodi, expected to materialise within the next 15 months; the Medical Park to be situated at the old School of Nursing in Ikoyi and the Kuramo Island resort, among others.

He said that for any proposal to sail through the approval hurdle, both its financial and technical model must be sound, stressing that a streamlined process had been put in place to ensure that all proposals were fully dealt with within four weeks.

Prof. Abass averred that the emergence of the Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment (Lagos Global) underscore the high premium that the Ambode administration placed on attracting investment into the state, both within and outside Nigeria.

The Special Adviser noted that the role of Lagos Global was not to serve as an implementing agency but to serve as a one-stop-shop which receives proposals from investors and collaborates with relevant MDAs to serve as sector experts, providing advisory services to the office.

He said that to assist in performing this role, his office has instituted a class of Investment Champions who, as desk officers in their respective MDAs, would serve as interface between Lagos Global and MDAs.

• Photo shows Governor Ambode.

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