Revamping Edo economy: Sergius Ogun lists enabling environment, renewable energy, others as best solutions

By Innocent Okoh

A Labour Party Frontline Governorship Hopeful in Edo 2024 gubernatorial election, Hon. Sergius Ogun has promised to revamp the state economy by creating an enabling environment for investors to come, invest, and thrive when elected as governor of Edo state.

He stated this on Wednesday when answering questions from members of the Labour Party, through a Whatsapp broadcast platform called Best Edo 2024 Project.

He disclosed plans to partner private sector to build solar towers capable of producing about 600 MW of electricity to complement the electricity needs in each of the senatorial regions.

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But he further said what the government had to do first was to construct quality access roads and work with the community to provide the land and peaceful environment to attract investors.

Hon. Sergius Ogun said; “Well, I plan to have on renewable energy. I actually have a proposal already from Europe on solar towers that can produce about 600 MW of electricity. But if you look at the needs right now, it will mean that you probably can have two major towers or three in Edo South to complement the power demands or requirements there right now and maybe in the other senatoria, you have one each.

“But again, as you know, power is not government. It’s just for you to work with the private sector that will bring it. And because it’s not government, it’s not charity, because you have to pay for it.

“So if the economics is good, of course investors will come in. All the government needs to do is to create an enabling environment for them to settle down. If, for example, they have to build those towers, of course, they have to do their surveys. Where will they get more heat and more sunshine? If getting there will require a lot of good roads, access roads to that place, yeah, the government will take access road there.”

He added: “And then you have to negotiate with the community for them to get the land and be sure that there will be protection for their facilities. So that’s basically all the government needs to do. But the investors will have to be sure that they can get a return on their investment before they’ll put investment there.”

And throwing more light, he said, “So yes, renewable energy is the way to go, but I just don’t think it’s only renewable energy right now. It’s called energy mix. While you are doing NIPP, doing gas, you are still doing solar. And I think we have found out that wind turbines are not very effective. So for now, it’s mainly solar. Well, we have heard so much about waste to wealth. Maybe it’s something we will also pursue, but I don’t want to start sounding, saying things that one will begin to look like what previous governors have said. You know, they charge you electronically and they give you the impression that they are going to bring the moon to the earth. But when they get there, it’s a different thing entirely.

“So for me, I always believe in speaking to the basic things, you know, things that the ordinary man can identify with, that can relate to it, that will not take such science to implement. So for the solar towers, presentation has been made to me. I have an idea how much it’s going to cost. And like I said, it’s not the state government that will acquire it, but create the enabling environment for the investors to come and invest here. And like I said, it’s also going to be very possible to make sure that, because they will do their survey to be sure that whatever investment they make, they can recoup it. And that’s business.”

The two term former lawmaker said if enabling environment was created with tax break for both domestic and foreign investors, jobs would be created, the people of the state wpuld be gainfully employed, the contractors would pay tax as well, buy food, build houses and as such the economy would grow.

He said: “If we have to give companies tax break to allow them to come in, yeah, sure, we will do that. Because the multiplier effect is what we should be looking at. They may not be paying you tax today, but the companies servicing them will pay tax. They will employ people. By so doing, they take people out of the unemployment market, and those people will pay tax. And when this happens, it will bring down crime. And then the company, those working for them, those servicing them, by way of contractors supplying them things, will buy food from our markets.

“So that is a gain. You have created a market for the food that has been produced from our state. They will rent houses, so people will build more houses, landlords will earn money. So that’s the way economies grow. That’s how places develop. So, like I said, if we have to give companies a tax break, we will do that.

Adding more idea to the best way of revamping the Edo economy, The Labour Party governorship hopeful said, creating a smart city is the way to go and this he will achieve by implementing the SDG, and the World Bank would support any SGD project. He further said an access road would be constructed there, dualize it, and open up the place for people to begin to move in there. Then the private sector develops and begins to sell, but he said it shouldn’t be in a particular senatorial region.

According to him, “Let’s create smart cities, not a smart city, smart cities. Again, it’s not the state government to invest in it. You can create, I keep saying, when you create an enabling environment, investors will come naturally. If you can take an access road there, if you have to dualize it, dualize it. When you open up the place, of course, people will begin to move there. Then, the private sector develops and begins to sell. I shouldn’t be in a particular senatorial. We should have as many of them in the three senatorial. Now people are building indiscriminately, a lot of our young people are making money and just building. Are the places planned?

Continuing Hon. Sergius Ogun added; “We should plan our cities well. So that if we have smart cities, rather than somebody just building behind someone’s house and blocking the waterways, and we are complaining about flooding tomorrow, we plan out an area and then you get developers to come and build. It can be prototyped, you know. So if it’s designed, it becomes plug and play. You have a road, you have light, you have water already. So you choose your plot, and they can build it for you.

“So yeah, we, while I talked about the SDG, by implementing just the SDG, you have World Bank at your beck and call. They will come and invest because the SDG is their programme, and it’s something I have always said. That’s the easiest way to lift people out of poverty and put the basic things in place for the common man. So investors, be it foreign or domestic, they will come in when there is a place that is peaceful and when the cost of living is low. Thank you.” He said.