Ogun State has intensified its drive to attract domestic and international investments, presenting its industrial strength, infrastructure development, agricultural potential and business-friendly reforms to global investors and development partners at a high-level side event held on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States.
Representing the state at the engagement, the Special Adviser to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Development Partners Coordination, Dr. Bayo Adenekan, said Ogun was strategically positioned to attract increased investment through its expanding industrial clusters, infrastructure projects, agricultural opportunities and economic reforms.
Adenekan said the state was seeking stronger partnerships in key areas including agriculture, infrastructure, innovation, climate and green financing, youth empowerment and artificial intelligence.
He explained that Ogun’s participation at the UNGA provided an opportunity to showcase its economic potential to a global audience while deepening relationships with international investors, development institutions and strategic partners.
According to him, sustained collaboration among government, investors and development institutions remained critical to unlocking the state’s economic potential, addressing emerging development challenges and creating opportunities for businesses, young people and communities.
He also stressed the importance of innovative financing mechanisms, particularly climate and green financing, in supporting infrastructure development and building a resilient and sustainable economy.
The engagement, which focused on innovative financing mechanisms for climate action and accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the Global South, also examined Nigeria’s growing commitment to climate governance, climate financing and sustainable development.
Adenekan said Ogun’s investment proposition had been strengthened by the development agenda of the Abiodun administration, anchored on the ISEYA pillars, as well as the state’s expanding infrastructure and industrial ecosystem.
He noted that the engagement formed part of Ogun’s broader efforts to attract strategic investments, deepen development partnerships and position the state as a destination for sustainable investment, innovation and industrial development.
As part of the engagement, Adenekan presented a copy of the achievements brochure of the Abiodun administration to Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim.
Adenekan said Ibrahim promised to make the publication available as a reference document at the United Nations, Nigeria Office and the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN, as well as a guide to investment opportunities in Ogun State.
Also speaking at the event, the Secretary of the UNGA High-Level Global Executive Roundtable and Director-General of the Civil Society Organisations on Community Advancement and Humanitarian Empowerment Initiative (CSCHEI), Chief Kunle Yusuff, spoke on Nigeria’s evolving climate governance framework and efforts to mobilise climate financing.
Yusuff cited the strategic revitalisation of the National Agency for the Great Green Wall (NAGGW), saying the initiative was important to tackling desertification, improving carbon sequestration, strengthening climate adaptation and enhancing livelihood resilience in vulnerable communities.
He said the initiatives aligned with Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the Paris Agreement and the country’s obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Yusuff added that strengthening Nigeria’s climate financing architecture could help attract green bonds, carbon-credit investments and climate-adaptation financing.
The engagement brought together Nigerian business, diplomatic and public-sector leaders, including Ambassador Jimoh Ibrahim, former Chairman of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, Group Managing Director of Odu’a Investment Company Limited, Mr Abdulrahman Yinusa, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Climate Change and Circular Economy, Hon. Titilayo Oshodi, and Chairman of SIFAX Group, Dr Taiwo Afolabi.
