The Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has stated that the newly-constructed Heritage Mall and Cocoa Mall in the Central Business Diastrict of Ibadan, would provide over 2,000 jobs for residents of the state.
The governor, who spoke on behalf of other owner state governors at the official inauguration of the ultra modern Heritage and Cocoa Malls, said the coming on board of the two malls would also help in recreating the economy of the state.
He said that the shopping malls, constructed by O’dua Investment Company Limited, were one of the fruits of the developmental agenda embarked upon by his administration.
According to the governor, the project is also a confirmation of the importance of the private sector participation in the economic and social development of the state, stressing that the state government would not relent in its efforts at partnering with the private sector to take the state to greater height.
Governor Ajimobi said his administration had equally partnered with the private sector in the on- going construction of a five-star hotel located within Agodi axis as well as the rehabilitation of the popular Agodi Gardens for leisure and tourism purposes.
In his remark, the Chairman of O’dua Investment, Sharafadeen Alli said the Heritage Mall was solely financed by the conglomerate with the sum of N2 billion while the Cocoa Mall was constructed through private partnership arrangement worth N1 billion.
He said that the vision of O’dua Investment was to redefine business activities and improve the quality of lives in Ibadan and other neighboring states.
In his address, the Group Managing Director of O’dua Investment, Adebayo Jimoh said that the development of the malls was borne out of the need and demand by highly placed individuals in the South-West who spent time and money traveling to Lagos for shopping.
He commended the Ajimobi administration for providing an enabling environment for the development of such projects which he noted would rejuvenate business activities of O’dua states.
Also speaking, a former Chairman of Odua Investment, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi stressed the need for social and economic integration by all the Yoruba-speaking states so as to bring the South-West geo-political zone back to the path of development as it was in the days of the late Premier of the defunct Western Region, Obafemi Awolowo.