UK, German Agencies Partner Ogun On Development

**As Amosun Receives World Bank Officials

 

The United Kingdom Trade and Investment Office and German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) have reiterated their determination to partner with Ogun so that the gateway state can become the economic hub of Nigeria and West Africa.

 

Officials of the foreign firms expressed the view today at Ota, during the Ogun 2014 Retreat for senior government officials, held at the Temperance Hotel and Conference Centre.

 

Participants, who also included four officials of the World Bank, were of the opinion that the current climate in the state offered tremendous opportunity for investment in the various sectors of the economy of Ogun State.

 

Speaking on Mastering Public Private Partnership (PPP), as a way of consolidating the achievements of the current administration, Mr John Davie, who served for six years on the UK Government PPP Advisory Board, said Ogun should take maximum advantage of its vast natural resources and its strategic location around the major markets in Nigeria and West African countries.

 

“You should strive to build human capital and needed competences for PPP. It is necessary to secure the services of quality advisers as it is the case in the developed countries. As you mature in the process, things will become less challenging,” he said.

 

Mrs Amina Tijani Sanni of John Maxwell Group elaborated on Maxwell’s leadership skills such as Character, Charisma, Commitment, Communication, Competence, Courage and Initiative. She emphasized the need for leaders to imbibe qualities such as Self-discipline, Listening, Servanthood, Responsibility, among others.

 

Earlier in his opening address, the state governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, said training and re-training of government officials was a veritable tool for excellent service delivery to the people.

 

He explained that the retreat was an avenue for participants to gain experience and acquire knowledge that would impact positively on the economy of the state.

 

“Continuous training of officials is the only thing that will keep them abreast of international best practices,” he declared.

 

The three-day retreat, which ends tomorrow, has as its theme, “Consolidation: Present Gains and Charting the Way Forward”.