Kano State government woos investors with land, tax incentives

Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, has said the state is ready to grant land and tax incentives to investors, in order to revolutionise agriculture and promote investments in various sectors.

Ganduje, at the 2017 yearly general conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos, with the theme: “African Business: Penetrating throughInstitution Building,” made the pledge during the showcase session of “Investment Opportunities inKano State’’. “We have decided to make land acquisition very easy and speedy. There is a lot of red-tapism, and a lot of bureaucracies, and we decided to replace that ministry with the Bureau for Land Management,” 

Ganduje said. 

He said Kano is working to boost both the nation’s economy and the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), adding that it will support President Muhammadu Buhari’s efforts to tackle insurgency in the North East. Ganduje said the government had made huge investments in securing lives and property in the state through procurement of vehicles, communication gadgets and trackers to check insecurity. “Kano State presently enjoys very peaceful atmosphere that would encourage any serious local and foreign investor to come to the state and derive the benefits of the efforts made so far by the state government in the area of security.“

Economic and social activities are now going on in all the 44 local government areas of the state without any hindrance, and not a good place for Boko Haram, kidnappers, armed robbers, rapists, cattle rustlers and other peace disturbers,” he said. Enumerating the opportunities in the state, the Governor said Kano has the largest forest reserve in Nigeria, and to prevent terrorists hijacking the space, the government had converted the forest into a military training ground. He noted that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector was strong and diverse, with an estimated 1.6 million businesses and enterprises across all economic activities that contribute about 70 per cent output and employment. He listed some resources of the state being worked upon to restore the state back to its former glory as one of the leading economies in Africa to include textiles and apparels, plastic and rubber, paper and paper products, leather, food and beverages and basic industrial products.

The Governor said the state’s huge population of about 15 million people provided market opportunities, in addition to a history of contact with strategic markets in West, Central, and Northern Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, Europe, and the Far East. The Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, cited examples of some Asian countries that had worse beginnings than Nigeria, and now transformed into first class global economies. 

Sanusi noted that several countries that were experiencing worse challenges than Nigeria were still making economic progress, saying that Nigeria had the huge potential for speedy industrialisation through Agriculture. He urged investors not to be discouraged by the security situation in the country, adding that, huge investments were still on-going in countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Niger Delta area.

The royal father urged investors to feel free to negotiate terms, which he was going to facilitate with the help of the state governor, adding: “If you want anything come and tell us what it will take.” Also the Director-General, Kano State Investment and Properties Limited, Lawal Alhassan, while reeling out achievements of the Government, said the state was seeking partnership with the Lagos State Government.

The Chief Operating Officer, Dangote Group, Olakunle Alake, while delivering his speech, stressed the need to educate farmers.
Guardian Business