Adesanya Akanbi
From Ogun State, the Gateway city of Nigeria came the good news that the state topped investors’ destination in the country as over N138.3 billion new investments went into diverse business concerns in the state in 2014.
The investments went into businesses in Agbara, Igbesa, Abeokuta, Otta, Ijebu-Ode, Ibafo/Mowe, Arepo, Sagamu and other parts of the state, bringing the total investments in the zone to N514.87 billion for the year.
Ogun, located in South west Nigeria and created in 1976, borders Lagos State to the South, Oyo and Osun states to the north, Ondo State to the East and the Republic of Benin to the West.
The state which is fast attracting investors into her bowels because of its closeness to the shoreline, has, in the latest report of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) covering data from the 36 states of Nigeria, indicated that manufacturers from Ogun state pulled N691.77 billion investments in 2014, representing 74.4 per cent of the total in the country. The amount indicates manufacturers in the state recorded 26.86 per cent additional investment in 2014 when compared to total investment in 2013.
“On yearly comparison, the Ogun industrial zone ranked first at the end of 2014 with investment worth N514.87 billion, which when compared with the estimate of N376.57 billion for 2013 increased by N138.3 billion or 26.86 per cent over the periods.
“As Nigeria assumed the largest market in Africa as a result of GDP re-basing, the country has indeed become a haven for both domestic and foreign investments especially in the manufacturing sector”, says the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria.
Like it recorded in 2013, Ogun was trailed by Ikeja manufacturing zone which attracted N85.67 billion new investments within the year, rising from the N39.86 billion reported in the preceding year.
Analysis of the reports shows Kano/Sharada/Challawa made N19.81 billion worth of investments in 2014, while Oyo/Ondo/Osun/Ekiti industrial zone committed N19.22 billion within the period under review.
Apapa zone, that housed the likes of Honeywell Plc, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Dangote Sugar plc among others, attracted N15 billion new investments and manufacturers in Edo/Delta drew fresh N14.94 billion investments in 2014.
Kano Bompai manufacturers committed N14.94 billion, just as Anambra/Enugu investors injected N5.50 billion in new investments within the period under review.
The MAN reports which show that the new investments were mainly in assets, plants, vehicles, land and equipment, indicates that Bauchi/Benue/Plateau zone invested fresh N5.15 billion while Rivers’ investors recorded fresh N1.31 billion.
Manufacturers in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja made investments worth only N144.41 million, just as manufacturers in Kwara/Kogi invested only N16.22 million in new investments within the period under review.
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