The Executive Governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Bayelsa State will Monday share his turn-around strategy, that changed the state from a conflict hot-spot to an example of economic growth in a few years, with global business leaders and investors who will gather in Ethiopia’s capital, PANA learnt here Sunday.
Gov. Seriake Dixon will address the investor community at The Economist African High Growth Markets Summit scheduled to hold in the Ethiopian capital 2-3 Dec. on the progress achieved since he assumed office in 2011.
The Governor, who arrived in Addis Ababa on Sunday, is among those selected by The Economist magazine, which convened the Summit, to make a presentation at the summit, the Governor’s media team said in a statement.
Previously beset with various challenges including lawlessness and a lack of infrastructure development, Bayelsa State has made significant strides in addressing these problems by making progressive development a priority.
A two-pronged strategy to attract both local and foreign investment into the state has also been implemented.
“We have a blueprint for rapid socio-economic development named Restoration Agenda, which seeks to restructure governance and indeed the state economy by creating a culture of openness, emphasizing transparency and accountability in government and diversifying economic activity from over-reliance on oil and gas to include tourism and agriculture amongst other industries,” the Governor was quoted as saying.
He listed some of the encouraging development and initiatives in the pipeline in the state as including a focus on improved safety and security, an important strategic initiative which recently earned Gov. Dickson the award of Best Governor on Security Matters in West Africa 2013.
The expansion and upgrading of roads across the state; the construction of railway lines from Yenagoa to Brass and from Yenagoa to Agge; the construction of an airport in Yenagoa; and the development of the Deep Sea Port at Agge are among the initiatives.
The state government has also made education free for primary and secondary schools in the state, based on its belief that an educated citizenry is an important part of development.
