The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday revealed plans to establish and strengthen private sector relationship with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with a view to driving sustainable developments in the state.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is an international financial institution of the World Bank that offers investment, advisory and asset management services to encourage private sector development in developing countries.

Dr. Fayemi made the plan known while playing host to the Country Manager, IFC, Eme Essien Lore, in his office in Ado Ekiti.

The Governor identified the private sector as very key in driving the sustainability of government projects and Initiatives and assured that the State Government would stand as guarantors to promising private sector entities that intend going into partnership with IFC.

He said the idea of fostering private sector partnership with IFC was to provide opportunities and supports for more investors to establish and drive sustainable businesses in the state.

The Governor also disclosed to the IFC boss, the achievement of his administration in providing key infrastructural developments that would encourage private sector businesses to thrive in the state.

Fayemi mentioned that the State Government was already in partnership development partners like the World Bank, African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and other agencies in building its infrastructure development.

He added that his administration in a couple of weeks would sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to establish two sub-stations in the state to increase power supply to investors.

According to him, “If we can smoothen that path into relationship with IFC, it will also provide a relief to us to focus on development in an institutional manner while we are also encouraging private sector players to thrive.

“We can provide guarantee for whatever they are going to do with you so that you know that they are engaged with state and the state is interested in what they are doing. The state will be there to provide necessary guarantee, for projects like our hotels and facilities management Initiatives including new ones coming on stream and that is an area we will like your expertise and support to come into play.

“I don’t know if you had the opportunity to visit Afe Babalola Medical Centre which probably is the best that we have in the country today and it is private sector owned and private sector driven, but that is also spinning all other activities in that area, pharmaceutical, IT, Agric Tech, and there are a number of players coming into agric space here, particularly processing space, yes, you met FMS but aside FMS we have Dangote coming in with rice mill, we have Stallion coming with Rice Mill, we have promise point, a cassava mill with FMS in the northern cluster of our Agric Zone and we have cocoa.

“We are helping with land clearing, we are not stopping at that, we are also helping with water for irrigation in all of those places. In about the three zones of cluster that we have, in the South we have the Egbe dam that we are rehabilitating and not just rehabilitating the dam, we provide water for about six local governments as well as some local governments in Ondo State and we have world bank supporting us majorly in resuscitating the Ero Dam in the North, to supply water to about ten local government and by the end of this year, it will be completed. The third dam is almost exclusively linked to the processing zone for irrigation and that is also in the North.”

IFC Country Manager, Eme Lore, in her remarks, disclosed that the institution would invest into the private sector either by lending or by giving technical supports with a very development intention.

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