Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (right), making his remark during the courtesy visit by Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Mrs. Sigrid Kaag (left), at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, on Wednesday, July 10, 2019.

…Lagos Ready For Investors – Sanwo-Olu

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has reiterated his administration’s commitment to collaborate with Netherlands on health, Education, technology, trade, tourism and infrastructure.

Governor Sanwo-Olu stated this while playing host to the team led by Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade, Development and Cooperation, Mrs Sigrid Kaag who paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

Lagos is actually not the first to attract business or cooperation from the Netherlands.It is estimated that over 30 Dutch companies, according to bounce news, currently operate in Nigeria, employ an estimated 1.5 million people directly and indirectly.

According to Governor Sanwo-Olu, there are investment opportunities in Lagos, adding that the state is home to all, emphasising that the environment is friendly for foreign investors.

The Governor thanked the team for the visit, and explained that Netherlands and Lagos share certain similar features such their locations below the sea level and technology which he said would assist in the bilateral arrangements to be discussed.

He explained the reclamation effort at Eko Atlantic City when he said “You know there is a new development being done at Eko Atlantic City. That is a city that is risen on top of water. It is actually an engineering that we are really proud of.

“With technology, you need to sand fill a lot of the place there, it went 12 meters down and has a height of about 9 meters up and that is twice the size of Victoria Island, we poured 10million cubic of sand to stabilize. It’s actually an engineering that we are really proud of,” Sanwo-Olu added.

He also lauded the efforts of Netherland on skill acquisition and poverty reduction programmes, which had made Lagos State foster economic relation with the country.

Sanwo-Olu said, “On education side, Netherland is very good, they develop skills a lot which reduces poverty hence our aim of partnering with you is to ensure that poverty is reduced by 2030. That is our goal”

He praised the current collaboration with the Dutch government in various areas including the new Lagos State Health Insurance Scheme saying a lot is going on to boost the health sector as his administration is poised to give people quality access to health.

“We have just launched early in the year our health insurance scheme which is taking-off well. We also realised that we must tackle all issues of health and its quality delivery at early stages,” Sanwo-Olu stated.

On water transportation, Governor Sanwo-Olu noted the state is working hard on taking enough space in the waters for dredging to ensure safety when full blown aquatic traffic begins.

According to him, “We are doing a lot of reclamation to safeguard water safety, water transportation. I think these are some of the things we are dealing with to upscale our transport system.

“What I am trying to present is total transportation in all but for available resources. Water transportation is for us and of course, we need to complete our rail projects too so that we can have easy movement of our people from one part of the city to the other,” he added.

Earlier, the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade, Development and Cooperation, Mrs Kaag congratulated the Governor on his emergence praising his work ethic since assumption of office.

According to Kaag, “From what I have heard so far, you are tremendous in your attitude, hence what the people who elected you saw and chose you as the governor of the 5th largest economy in African continent is not in doubt.”

She expressed willingness to collaborate with the current administration to achieve the desired result in areas including maritime, health, education and technology adding that Lagos and indeed Nigeria has the potential to shine and lead by example.

Below are top six Dutch conglomerates that impact our lives everyday and, as the bounce news report indicates, Nigerians can’t possibly imagine their lives without them.

“1. Unilever Nigeria PLC:

You have probably used no fewer than two of Unilever’s products today. The Close-Up toothpaste and the Lipton Yellow tea are some of their popular products.

But they do have a full bouquet of other food, home care and personal care products.

The company started operations in Nigeria in 1923 and is engaged in the manufacture and marketing of foods and food ingredients, as well as home and personal care products.

2. Nigerian Breweries Plc:

We’re almost certain you had no idea that Nigeria’s pioneer beer maker has the Dutch element.

You see, the idea to establish a brewery in Lagos was promoted by one Frank Samuel of UAC prior to World War II. But UAC did not have a technical history in beer making leading the firm to enter into a technical agreement with Heineken, a Dutch brewer.

The Nigeria Breweries eventually started operations in Nigeria in 1946 with Heineken as a majority shareholder with 54.09% of equity.

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3. Friesland Campina (WAMCO):

How many times have you walked into a shopping mall to ask for milk, assuming that the seller would just understand that it is Peak Milk that you need?

That is how popular Peak Milk has become in Nigeria. And it is a product of a Dutch firm, Friesland Campina WAMCO, which has been involved in the manufacture of dairy products for decades in Nigeria.

4. Shell Petroleum:

Shell petroleum is one of the most successful international oil companies operating out of Nigeria. And yes, it is coming from the Netherlands.

Shell came into Nigeria in 1937. Shell was the first to discover and drill oil in Nigeria at Oloibiri in Bayelsa State in 1956.

It currently has over 6,000 direct employees in Nigeria.

5. Air France KLM:

Dutch companies also play big in aviation. Air France KLM is one of theirs. It is a Franco Dutch holding company with its headquarters in Charles de Gaulle Airport, France. Air France KLM also currently operates in Nigeria.”