 I'm really pleased to be here for this inaugural Nassarowa State Investment Summit 2022, taking place here in Lafayette, this serene and historic capital city of Nassarowa State. I bring you also the very warm greetings of his excellency, President Mohamed Amari, who extends his best wishes for the success of this event. I'm also extend my very sincere appreciation to our host, Governor of Nassarowa State, and the government and people of Nassarowa State for the very excellent arrangements made for this summit, as well as the always warm reception that has been accorded me and members of my team, and of course other participants of this event. I must say that I find the theme of this investment summit diamond in the rough, the making of a new investment frontier, self effacing, pragmatic and forward looking. It shows that one, the enormity of the promise and opportunities of this well positioned and well endowed state, and at the same time the enormity of the challenges, as is the case with new frontiers, any government positioning itself for investment, especially positioning itself to be a number one investment destination in Nigeria and our sub-region, obviously has to be pragmatic and somewhat humble, which I think comes across in the theme. The metaphor of refining also demonstrates a deep appreciation of what needs to be done, even as we celebrate and affirm what has already been done. But I must say that what I say that really what I think is crucial, a crucial component of the success of this enterprise is the vision and the unequivocal political will of the governor and his team. I think that that is absolutely crucial and we have seen that demonstrated as clarity of vision and a determination to get things done. I think this is very evident in the government of Nassarora State, so heavily led by Governor Abdulaziz Suley, and they have all of that in good supply. The governor has cast the vision early in the life of the administration, in the following words and I quote, to make Nassarora State to re-engineer Nassarora State for rapid industrialization. He then went on to articulate and develop the Nassarora Economic Development Strategy Nets, and I'm sure we've heard so much already about that. But Nets sets out a range of reforms covering a central billing system that has dramatically boosted IGR 66% from 12.48 billion Naira in 2020 to 20.8 billion Naira in 2021, despite the severe consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. And when you consider that this is a state that started in 1999 with 1 million Naira in IGR, obviously that is a massive, massive job. Ease of doing business also, the ease of doing business reforms that are being implemented, especially the establishment of the Nassarora Investment and Development Agency, NACEDA, which is a one-stop shop for the initiation, promotion, and facilitation of investments in the state. Governance reforms are also being undertaken, and this includes a new Procurement Act, Public Procurement Act, which is crucial, and this is perhaps one of the few states that has thought it fit to actually enact its own Public Procurement Act. And I'm sure that it has taken into account a lot of the deficiencies in the Federal Public Procurement Act. Also as part of Governance Reforms is biometric registration of all public servants. This has helped, of course, to block leakages. But a recurring problem in business environments in most states is a convoluted and stressful process for obtaining land, and this is a major disadvantage that most states seem to grapple with without any real success. But I think the land reform exercise undertaken here has yielded, for example, an online platform for land applications and a single database for linking LIS and GIS, and I'm glad to hear from Governor Abbasic that they actually copied what is being done here in Nassarau State, and which obviously demonstrates the great success of that whole process. And of course, the substantial improvement in power supply and power, of course, is a major issue President Mohama mentioned that repeatedly, power supply, and we know that that improvement in power supply to Lafayette and surrounding areas will be a great pull for business once the Akuba power supply is fully operational, and we're looking forward to that. Just today, I was just, that the Federal Executive Council approved for the construction of a 2 by 6 OMBA 132 slash 23 substation at Lafayette, with 2 by 132 base extension at Akwanda. This is an old contract, but now being, of course, resuscitated, being replenished, the funding being replenished, and it is expected that it should be completed within a period of 12 months. So we're looking forward to that, and that certainly will boost power supply here. A rough diamond, as Nassarau State's investment prospects have been described, has potential value, but only shines after polishing, and just as there are many facets to a diamond, so are there many sides, I believe, to the potential for investment in this state. As the home of solid minerals, there's a lot of scope in Nassarau State. The range of available minerals is quite impressive, coal, clay, lead, zinc, gemstone, silica, granite, tantalite, marble, limestone, etc. So many, and such a huge rig, which is why it is rightly described as the home of solid minerals. But the effort required must involve a deliberate cooperation with the federal government. That cooperation has started, it came closely, on enforcement of regulations with the minister of mines and steel, but there's a long way to go, especially with controlling, and a sustainable plan with the federal government for the beneficiation of these minerals. This is a crucial national project. And I think we are developing a development of minerals, of the mineral sector here in this state, as a national project, the home of solid minerals must leave up to its name. Our national success in the cement industry, based on the plentiful availability of limestone deposits, is positive proof of the potential of value-adding activities in the mineral sector in Nassarau State. Agriculture, as we've heard repeatedly, and also from the government, is another phase of the road plan. The potential is obvious from the ongoing and incipient investment by Nangutee worth 50,000 hectares of rice farm. I believe that the sugar farm is equal to rice farm's 14,000 hectares. Flour mills also has a mixed crop production in the order of about 20,000 hectares. And agrotec, we are told, has a $56 million investment in sesame seeds and maize production for processing oil. So I think that we are set here for agricultural activity. And there is simply no turning back. There's also, of course, Olam, another notable asset in the Simulant farm as well. Nassarau State is already a leading producer of sesame seeds in the country. But given its vast arable lands and the investments that are being made in sugar, in soybeans and rice, I expect that the state will soon become a leading producer of these and other crops, like maize and cassava, which altogether can turn into a national agro-processing hub. And now with the problems that we find with importation of maize from Ukraine and Russia, and we import something in the order of about importation of wheat and maize, and we import almost $670 million worth of wheat and some maize from these countries. Now, obviously, that is becoming almost impossible. So I think that there is a major advantage here for Nassarau State to fill the gap created by the problems that have been experienced in those countries. Already the state, this state, has been selected by the AFDB for the special agro-processing zone project and also for the agro-processing productivity enhancement and livelihood improvement support, the appeals project, in addition to enabling potential investors to gain a better understanding of the economic prospects of Nassarau State. I think that this summit would also help Nassarau State to showcase how it intends to benefit from its local advantages. And these advantages include nearness to Abuja. Nearness to Abuja, of course, gives Nassarau State a significant advantage. And this sort of advantage that you get in other urban areas, like Kauru, for example, is obvious that Nassarau State can position itself to provide homes, goods and services to the residents of Abuja, somewhat like the relationship between Ogun State and Lagos State. And of course, that has already happened, but I think a more deliberate approach will be very helpful. Again, we must explore real and concrete areas of collaboration with the federal government to be able to get this done. Nassarau State, of course, by itself cannot get that kind of partnership done or cannot get that kind of opportunity, cannot realize that kind of opportunity. We must work with that extended Abuja, as it were, so that Nassarau State is able to take the benefit of the federal capital territory's own investments. One area of great potential also for Nassarau State is internally generated revenue. As those who live in Nassarau but work in Abuja are, of course, liable to pay their personal income tax to the Nassarau State government. So I think that this is an area I'm almost certain that the governor has already been paying attention to that. But it's an area of potential idea. I recall that one of the things that Ogun State did was to insist, and of course that is the law, that residents, that persons working in Lagos but residents in Ogun State must pay their personal income tax. That is the law. And once that was affected, obviously it boosted the IJR of Ogun State. And I believe that that should serve in Nassarau State as well in relation to the FCT. In similar vein, Nassarau State shares its borders with six states, six other states, and of course the FCT. And one, of course, expects that this and future investment summits will showcase the potential of the state as a logistics hub for the movement of people goods between its neighbors. I must, in this regard again, commend the state government for the completion and takeoff of the Lafayette cargo airport inaugurated by the president just this February. And again, we must commend the construction of the mega-boss terminals in Lafayette and Kauru, and the launch of the Nassarau Transport Company. I think that all of these very forward-looking investments and very forward-looking opportunities are not just worthy of commendation, but we must also see them as important building blocks in ensuring that this state is a sort of investment destination that we want it to be. A clear mandate of Nassida is to promote investments using various standard devices, such as public-private partnerships, privatization, concessions, commercialization of state-owned assets, et cetera. But I think it's worthy of note that there is a very strong public-private partnership model being promoted by Nassida so that the private sector is able to bring resources, expertise and motivation to the table to fill in some of the capacity and resource gaps on the part of the state. So I think this model must be pursued vigorously. And of course, it's already the model that Nassida is proposing. Some ongoing project and activities under these public-private partnership type models include the Nassarowa Infrastructure Fund, the Nassarowa Technology Village, the Kauru Retail and Recreational Center, the Nassarowa Agricultural and Commodity Company, and the Ugea Mining Company. As the governor has said, there is no, government has no business in business. Government's business is to create an environment for the private sector to do business. So government should take care of as much as possible the infrastructure issues, the federal government, the macro issues and all of those kind of issues so that the private sector can function. I think it's also quite clear that public sector reform, especially capacity enhancement, is crucial to the delivery of public goods, especially health, sanitation, housing and other social goods. And of course it is also crucial for the success of several of the giant strikes being taken by the government. We talk a lot about public sector reform, about civil service reform, but it's absolutely important. And I want to commend again Governor Suley and his team for the steps they have taken in public sector reform. And this is one of the reforms indicated in the net document itself. They have indicated that they will do public sector reform. And I think current successes are already being seen. They have rationalized ministries to 13. They've introduced compulsory literacy training. And I believe that these are fundamental and we must leverage on whatever there is to support the training of civil servants and public officers. And of course technology, introducing technology as well to governments. Especially on ease of doing business, Dr. Duwalee has said, the ongoing reforms must be institutionalized to ensure a lasting legacy. One of the things that this summit must do also is to enable existing investors to share their experiences for the benefit of others, but also to help point out areas in which they would like the natural state government to assist them further. I think we've seen a lot of that, especially from the final discussions. And I think that this will help strengthen the model of partnering with the private sector, which the state government has already chosen as its preferred approach. The creation of deal rooms while this summit is on, I think is also a very sound innovation. And it will of course lead to a situation where we can actually have some concrete projects that can be introduced and expressions of interest. This is, I think, very wise and very innovative. And it also shows that the governor and his team are determined to ensure that we get some definite results from this summit. I'm sure that given the exciting potential of Nassarar State, several deals will be announced in the course of this summit. In conclusion, let me once again, congratulate Governor Abdul-Isoole and his team for hosting this excellent summit. It's a proof of your great vision for the development of this state. And it certainly showcases all the hard work that you and your team have put into transforming Nassarar State in all these last three years. So wish to commend the Nassarar State Investment and Development Agency for their selling efforts to attract and handhold investors in the state. And I think that that is important, hand-holding investors. I think that one of the... What do you think of Nassarar State? That hand-holding. We certainly need to do a lot in terms of cajoling investors. And if they realize, and this has been pointed out by Alajil Aliko Dangoti, that the governor himself is the hand-holder-in-chief sorting out the problems that arise when investors complain. I think this is excellent and I think it will always give investors a great deal of confidence. From what I've seen and heard, I'm positive that the prospects of the state are very, very great indeed. And I certainly look forward to seeing Nassarar State becoming the very near future, not just a rough diamond, but a diamond in the sun. Thank you very much. God bless you.