Lord Paul Boateng, Britain’s first black cabinet minister, is among the several international businessmen and investors that have indicated interest to participate in a three-day investment summit planned to hold in Dutse, the capital of Jigawa State, next week.
Boateng, a one time chief secretary to the treasury, as well as United Kingdom (UK) high commissioner to South Africa, is expected to serve as the chairman of the investment summit.
The summit which is the first of its kind to hold in the state is being packaged by the Jigawa State government in partnership with office of DFID in Nigeria, as avenue to showcase the numerous investment opportunities available in the state to the global investment community.
Facts obtained from the secretariat of the summit indicate that the theme of the international summit which is planned to start on Wednesday, May 29 and end on Saturday, May 31 is ‘Mobilising Investments for Sustainable Development’.
Confirming the summit to BusinessDay on Tuesday, Mohammed Sagagi, who is one of the consultants to the project, said the event would be showcasing the potentials of the state in the areas of agriculture and solid mineral in particular.
Similarly, he stated that the summit would also be focusing on economic sub-sectors such as Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), light manufacturing ventures, commerce, as well as information and communication technology (ICT).
Sagagi disclosed that an ‘investors’ roundtable’ is also planned to hold on the sideline of the summit, and former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, is scheduled to serve as special guest of honour at the event.
Another event scheduled to hold during the summit is the presentation of investment handbook prepared by GEMS3/DFID in collaboration with Jigawa State government to participants.
ADEOLA AJAKAIYE, Dutse
