Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has embarked on visits to Egypt and Ethiopia to attract foreign investments on power and telecommunication services to the state.

This was just as the Ogun State Government entered into a partnership with a private internet firm, AOA Windscreen Limited, to improve its waste service delivery to residents through digital payment platforms.

Abiodun, who visited the Ethiopian Minister of Industry, Ato Melaku Alebal, in Addis Ababa and two companies in Eygpt, said that Ogun was seeking partnership in the area of trade and investments from both African countries.

He added that he had met with the President and Chief Executive Officer of Elsewedy Group, Ahmed El Sewedy and the Chief Business Development Officer – Áfríkà for Wadi Degla Holding, Peter Emil, to facilitate investments in the state.

The governor mentioned the areas of investments required from Elsewedy Group to include health care, industrial park development, real estate, intelligent transport systems network and management, tolling systems and power sector.

He also sought further investment opportunities from Áfríkà for Wadi Degla Holding, a multi-business conglomerate in the areas of real estate, telecoms, and sports services.

Abiodun, who was in company with Dr Mohammad Mahmood Abubakar, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, stressed that his visit was also intended to evaluate the benefits of and possible collaboration opportunities in the Special Agro-Processing Zones (SAPZs) which are a product of the African Development Bank.

He said, “The group is the largest producer of prepaid meters in the world. After this meeting, the investment team will be hosted in Ogun State to further evaluate and structure these investment opportunities, after which the president and chief executive of Elsewedy Group, Ahmed El Sewedy, who was on ground to receive us, will come to Ogun to sign a document in these areas and execute relevant definitive transaction agreements on these investments”.

On waste service delivery in the state, the Chief Executive Officer, Ogun State Management Authority (OGWAMA),  Mr Ola Oresanya disclosed this while meeting with the authority of the firm in Abeokuta, the state capital.

Oresanya said that digital payment, which is in the form of e-billing, e-payment and e-receipt will take waste management nearer to the people and eliminate the hardship encountered in the process of paying for  waste services.

He said that the new innovation was part of the state government’s ongoing waste management reforms to provide door-to-door payment service opportunities to residents after proper enumeration.

The special adviser urged households, commercial and industrial outlets, who had keyed into the waste-management payment reforms, to take advantage of the innovation for more efficient, stress-free service delivery.