Speeches

121st Annual General Meeting Dinner/Investiture Of The New President Of The Lagos Chamber Of Commerce And Industry

Dec 3, 2009 - I am pleased to be present at this occasion organized to mark the 121st Annual General Meeting Dinner and Investiture of a new President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry. What a better way to mark the end of a year full of challenges for businesses and governments and usher in a new one pregnant with great expectations by the smooth handover of leadership in a pleasurable atmosphere as we have tonight? Well, I am not surprised. The Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry is actually leaving up to its reputation not only as the oldest and best organized business organization in the world, but also as an epitome of the institutions that make Lagos State the true Center of Excellence.

Let me therefore commend the President, Asiwaju S. K Onofowokan and his wonderful team as well as the management and members of your organization for individually and jointly piloting the affairs of the LCCI in the past two years. Indeed, it has been two tasking years for businesses in the face of the global financial crisis, particularly for those in emerging democracies whose economies lack adequate credit facilities, infrastructure and institutions to immediately begin resolving the impact of the financial crisis.

But the LCCI has done well as an organization and as individual members. The successful hosting of the annual Lagos Trade Fair organized by your organization, even in these trying times, bears eloquent testimony to your resourcefulness and organizational capacity. Individually, many of you have become stakeholders in the mission of the Lagos State government to make the State a global mega-city. The participation of your organisations in our Private-Public Partnership Initiative has enabled the State to provide an effective and efficient security system, established a mortgage housing scheme and finance small businesses through its Micro- Finance scheme, beautify the environment and fund our schools. The relationship has also opened up some more areas of cooperation and obligation such as the payment and remittances of taxes.

I want to thank you all for your cooperation in the outgoing year and urge you to continue this collaboration as government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of governance. More importantly, I want to congratulate the president, Asiwaju Onafowokan and his team for steering the affairs of the organization successfully in the outgoing year. Running the affairs of an organization as old as the LCCI means maintaining a tradition of excellence and organization, which only visionary leadership can give.

On this note, I wish to enjoin the incoming leadership of Otunba Olufemi Deru to not only maintain the current peace and harmony within the association but also to endeavour to carry every member along in its decision making and the implementation of programmes. As the former Deputy President, you have been sufficiently groomed to step into the shoes you are to wear for the next two years, beginning from today. The Lagos State government congratulates you and wishes you and your team a successful tenure. We look forward to working with you and consolidating our relationship in the years ahead.

Before ending my remarks, I wish to remind all of us, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, that the dream to transform Lagos into a model mega-city requires a collective effort. And with the support of all stakeholders we shall get to our dream land. Within the last 2½ years, we have made some progress to create a business-friendly environment and enhance the living standard of our people, working assiduously to deliver on all our electoral promises.

Although we know that there is still more work to be done. We are however hopeful that the challenges we have before us are not to be compared with the ones we have overcome. If we continue to at the pace we are going, our dreams are within our full grasp. Although the resources may be limited, our possibilities are limitless.

As one of the few states in the federation with the greatest human capital and manufacturing potential, Lagos stands a chance to reinvent itself and continue to maintain its enviable position as the manufacturing hub and largest consumer market of the country and the West African sub-region. Achieving and maintaining this status requires constant planning and the cooperation of the all the stakeholders in the State. Your association is a critical partner in helping to grow the economy in order to prepare to meet the future now. We will do our best to play our part in creating an enabling environment for you to expand your business and also attract more investments in our ever-growing economy- the biggest in Africa.

At my 2010 budget presentation to the State House of Assembly recently, I disclosed that the N429.596 billion budget, which represents an increase of 5.3 per cent over the 2009 budget which was 75 per cent achieved, has a total revenue projection of N307.027 billion. Out of this amount, it projects an Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, of N204.000 billion, almost half of the entire package but a significant indication of the commercial status of the state in the country and ECOWAS sub-region. We believe we can achieve our goals and meet our target considering the support your chamber and others have been giving us in the past.

On this note, I wish to appeal for the continuous collaboration of the business community as well as other stakeholders in the State with government in our commitment to deliver democracy dividends to our people and cater for the ever-increasing population.

Before concluding, let me acknowledge again that the LCCI as an umbrella body of firms in manufacturing, commercial, financial and professional services has been a worthy partner in this journey. I cannot thank you enough. But Lagos belongs to us all. It is where we do our businesses, earn our living and raise our families. I am confident that you will continue to rise up to support us whenever you are called upon to do so. It is part of discharging your corporate social responsibility, which is really an investment for the future and continuous growth of your businesses

Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, as I conclude, let me remind you that the world has become a global village in which accountability, shared responsibility and solidarity are the values shaping business, governance and policy formulation and implementation. I believe that as leaders in our respective businesses, we must embrace and champion these values. One other way your organization can continue to do this is to pay your taxes promptly and regularly. Taxes are the other side of the coin in the social contract which the citizen must perform by paying to government. That is the only way your government can continue to build infrastructure that will support your investment and enhance your well-being, that of your families and the citizens at large.

In closing, let me once again commend the president and his members for inviting me to this exciting evening. I assure you that as Governor of the State, I will continue to do my best to serve the interest of the citizens of this state, with the help of God and the continued assistance from you all.

I thank you for listening and wish you all prosperity in your individual and corporate endeavours in the coming year.

Have a wonderful evening!

Bon appetite!

“Eko O ni baje!”

BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA, SAN
GOVERNOR OF LAGOS STATE