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Communiqué Issued at the End of the 2011 Ekiti state Economic & Development Summit Held at Bishop Adetiloye Hall, Ado-Ekiti on 14th and

15th October 2011.

Ekiti State is endowed with a lot of natural, human and material resources, yet

the state is characterised by low productivity, investment and income, with

majority of the people living in relative poverty. With a sense of urgency to

transform the often-touted potentials of the State for economic growth and

development into reality, the Governor Dr John Kayode Fayemi-led

administration inaugurated the first Ekiti State Economic and Development

Summit 2011 aimed at stimulating investments in order to make poverty

history in the State within the shortest possible time.

The summit was held at the Bishop Adetiloye Hall, Ado Ekiti, on Friday 14th

and Saturday 15th October, 2011 and coordinated under the leadership of Mrs

Bunmi Dipo-Salami (Special Adviser to the Governor on planning and

Millennium Development Goals MDG) with the theme “Harnessing

opportunities for sustainable Development”.

The sub-themes of the summit were:

• Opportunities in Ekiti State for Foreign and Indigenous Entrepreneurs

• Development Partners and Economic Development in Ekiti State:

Progress and Framework for Future Collaboration

• Framework for and available opportunities in Public Private Partnership

towards Infrastructure Development in Ekiti State

• Education as a driver of Economic Growth and Development: Our

Strategy and Opportunities

• Stimulating and Sustaining Agric Business in Ekiti State

• Framework for and Opportunities for Sustainable Private Sector

Participation in Solid Minerals and Tourism Development in Ekiti State

and

• State-owned Enterprises as a vehicle for economic development:

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Framework for Private Participation

• The goals of the summit included to:

• Identify critical legislative gaps to be filled in attaining the economic

ambitions of Ekiti State

• Unveil infrastructure development plans for the State Government and

highlights, the opportunities for Private Sector Participation

• Identify the strategies to involve private capital in the regeneration of

our educational heritage

• Examine how Public Policy and Private Capital can combine to

stimulate and sustain commercial agric business in Ekiti State

• Examine the framework for stimulating private participation; and

• Make available opportunities in the solid minerals and tourism sectors

• Review the framework for ownership and management of these

enterprises; and

• Present opportunities for private sector collaboration in realising the

ambitions for the assets and organisations in this sector.

The two-day Summit was well-attended by investors from private and public

sectors, business tycoons, corporate bodies, and farmers, as well as Ekiti

Indigenes resident all over Nigeria as well as from the Diaspora, and capped

with a State Banquet that was chaired by Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi.

Prof Pat Utomi, of the Lagos Business School, Pan African University

delivered the key note address titled “Unconventional Strategies for achieving

rapid and Sustainable Development and Growth of a small Sub-National

Economy”, where he identified, inter alia , improper focus, lack of commitment

of government officials to responsibilities and embezzlements of public funds

as major hindrances to economic development in Nigeria.

He suggested a disciplined farmer approach, unification and commitment of all

stakeholders, reforming the mindset of public servants and politicians, building

capacity for execution as keys to economic development. He opined that the

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goals of a state must be set in a smart mode on annual basis. These goals must

be measurable, attainable, relevant and tangible.

He offered a framework of six critical variables that makes for economic

growth. These are: Policy Choices, Institutions; Human Capital,

Entrepreneurship; Culture and Leadership; a strong commitment to which will

make Ekiti economically prosperous. He solicited for the advancement in

Agriculture alongside Mining, Tourism and an Education Industry.

After extensive deliberations on papers presented, participants made the

following observations and recommendations on the various sub-themes of the

Summit:

General Government Intervention So Far in Promoting Opportunities in

Ekiti State for Foreign and Indigenous Entrepreneurs.

In priming the Summit, several Government presenters identified areas of

investment available for public and private investors such as Agriculture,

fisheries, poultry, food processing, solid minerals such as Granite, Uranium

and Gold and Tourism Hospitality business, Small and Medium-Scale

Enterprises (SME) Sector and Education sector. They also revealed that in

order to attract investors to Ekiti State, the Government had embarked on the

following measures:

• Passing of enabling laws such as Freedom of Information law, Fiscal

Responsibility Law, and public private partnership

• Awarding of ten new roads construction with work to commence as

soon as the rains are over

• Provisioning of silos for grain preservation

• Giving of tax moratorium and early issuance of Certificate of

Occupancy (C of O) to encourage investors

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• Renewing partnership with some bodies such as : DFID, UN, EU and

USAID

In the area of those identified partnerships, current interventions with

development partners in Ekiti State include:

1. DFID (UK’s Department for International Development): It has helped

in setting up Bureau of Transformation and Private Sector Development

initiatives.

2. World Bank: It has been helping in the area of health, poverty

reduction, governance, capacity building, HIV/Aids reduction.

3. European Union: It has been helping in the areas of infrastructural

development, Water & Sanitation. It is now working in II Communities

in the State.

4. African Development Bank ADB: It has been assisting in developing

Multinational NERICA rice and NPFS (National Program for Food

Security).

5. USAID: it had been helping in areas of OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable

Children) and Management Science for Health (MSH).

6. UNICEF: It is assisting in areas of OVC by HIV/Aids, women and

related issues. 2011/2012 MOU had been signed with the State

Government.

7. UN System: MTF (Medium-Term Framework) has been developed,

which outlines how the State can collaborate and work with the various

United Nations systems. The agreement will be signed in the next few

weeks. The objective of the MTF was to avoid possible duplication of

functions among the UN systems.

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Framework for and available opportunities in Public Private Partnership

towards Infrastructure Development in Ekiti.

The Summit identified the following areas to be addressed include:

1. Water Sector • Refurbishment of water facilities in the State back to their original

designed production capacity

• Expansion of water production, distribution coverage and reticulation of

Ado scheme

• Completion of the on-going N1 billion MDG2009 water projects

covering Ado, Erijiyan, Ipole- Iloro, Efon, Ido-Ile and Okemesi

• Completion of the turnaround maintenance of the Ureje (Ado)

Headwork

• Provision and Installation of a 2, 500KVA power plant for Ero dam

• Turn around maintenance of Itapaji, Egbe, and Ero water scheme

• Replacement of 25km of trunk line from Itapaji to Ikole through

external funding

• Replacement of the Ifaki- Ado pipeline

2. Power sector: Intervention in the supply and distribution of power to

the State through independent power project

3. Public buildings: Construction of a civic centre that would have a

museum, meeting halls, amphi theatre, cinema, library and green rest

areas in Ado-Ekiti.

4. Construction of a new model market with shopping mall, office block as

a replacement for the existing open market in Ado-Ekiti

5. Establishment of mechanic villages

6. Road Networks: Provision of good road networks in the State to

enhance transportation of farm products.

7. Education as a driver of Economic Growth and Development: Summit strongly emphasised that drivers of economic growth and development

were both the products of education themselves (quality graduates, innovations

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and inventions), as well as the opportunities that exist in creating them. It

therefore made the following recommendations, inter alia:

• Meeting student’s basic needs in terms of uniform, books, computers,

transportation and conducive learning environment.

• Pre and post service training of both academic and non-academic staff

and provision of instructional materials

• Ensuring the use of curriculum that is relevant and adaptable to Ekiti

State

• Provision of modern, adequate and suitable teaching/ learning facilities

(classrooms, laboratories, lecture halls) through donations for renovation

and new constructions

• Provision of suitable and adequate Living and recreational facilities,

hostels, common rooms, and stadiums

• Adequate and timely delivery of fees, grants, aids or loans

• Ensure a transparent and stable governance at the public and private

sector

• Ensure a consistent and comprehensive community participation in

governing and financing the educational sector

• Encouraging the private sector investment in providing transport

facilities, book publishing, building cloth factory and accommodation

• provision of science kits for primary and junior secondary school

• upgrading the government technical college at Ado-Ekiti to a vocational

centre of excellence

• providing incentives to teachers posted to rural areas

• Turn the educational system to a source of wealth creation

8. Stimulating and Sustaining Agric Business in Ekiti State

Summit strongly concluded that Agribusiness can be sustained in Ekiti through

the adoption of Public Private Partnership (PPP). Action plans for sustainable

commercial agriculture include the following:

• A stable policy enabling environment for PPP

• Training of extension staff on PPP

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• The need to provide market information and standardization

• Provision of good roads, power and silo

• Provision of a strong and good data base for planning

• Ensure availability of land for investors

• Government must focus on selected strategic arable crops, in the first

phase of the Agricultural Movement, based on current agro-technology

and farmers’ familiarity - rice, maize, cassava and yam tuber and for

tree crops –cocoa and kolanut

• Heavy investment in the procurement and propagation of quality

seedlings for free distribution to farmers

• There is the need for linkage between the Universities in Ekiti,

Ministries of Agric and Education, Science and Technology

• Need to establish and sustain Seed Nurseries in all the 16 LGAs

• Government to empower the Ministry of Agriculture and related

Agencies to expand the current farmers support program – inputs, land

clearing, market management and information systems

• The Rivers/reservoir systems must be audited for sustainable predatory

load and stocked with fingerlings

• River/Reservoir beds must be reclaimed for farming year round with

simple surface intake irrigations systems

• Particular attention must also be given to the seeds in the livestock and

fisheries subsector with procurement, domiciliation and propagation of

fish seeds, especially, the YY Male Tilapia for free distribution for

aqua-culture, farming and rivers and reservoir stocking

• There is the need for domestication and propagation of grand and parent

stock for poultry – e.g. NAPRI Shika brown poultry and the NAPRI

breed of cattle and other proven domestic breeds or domesticated

imported breeds. [NAPRI - National Animal Production Research

Institute]

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Framework for and Opportunities for Sustainable Private Sector

Participation in Solid Minerals and Tourism Development in Ekiti

Summit made several recommendations here, including to:

• Identify and focus on 3 solid minerals for immediate attention of the

government programmes – granite, Gemstones, Clay - and ensure value

added processing

• Identify unallocated mineral deposit blocks to encourage investors

apply and develop some of the solid mineral blocks available in the

State.

• Set up State owned minerals promotion company and State mineral

resources and environmental management committee

• Establishment of a solid minerals development backed by law

• Stimulate and promote investments and exploration activities through:

i. Ekiti Investment Development Co. Ltd

ii. Ekiti Chambers of Commerce (Solid Minerals Forum)

iii. Ekiti Economic Development Council

iv. Facilitate, engage, encourage and provide enabling investment

environment for the existing exploration license owners to start

preliminary survey and commercial exploration activities in Ekiti State.

v. Take stock of existing exploitation of minerals in the State by artisan ,

small scale and illegal miners with the aim to register, organize, control

and normalize the mining activities with the Mining Cadastral Office in

Abuja

vi. Organize training for registered miners to attract external funding

vii. Increase global awareness about solid minerals in Ekiti State through the

internet

9. State-owned Enterprises as a vehicle for economic development:

Framework for Private Participation. Examples of agencies for promotion of

private participation (to serve as catalyst for investors, create revenue for the

State, generate employment) include:

• Ekiti Enterprise Development Agency (EEAD)

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• Fountain Holdings, Ltd.

10. Capacity Building Public Private Partnership (CBPPP) outfit

• To focus on the rapid industrialization of the state, several major and

minor approaches include:

• Optimization of the output of the ones operational currently for

maximum impact

• Resuscitation of all moribund industries scattered across the State

• Setting up of new large scale industries in strategic areas of the State

• Upgrading existing SMEs, for better efficiency and output

• Setting up new ones through empowerment schemes

• Reviving moribund ones through fund injection.

• Setting up centres for Entrepreneurial Development

• Establishment of vocational Training and Development centres

• Hosting of Local and International Business summit and Expos

• Regional Integration and economic development of South Western

Nigeria

Summit recognized the importance of the ongoing regional integration efforts

of the various governments of the South-Western region - including within the

framework of the new DAWN (Development Agenda for Western Nigeria)

document – and recommended the need to generate and increase:

• Awareness of participants to the increasing marginalization of the

Yoruba from the commanding heights of the economy, especially in the

regulatory agencies in the banks, finance and telecoms

• Cooperation among the Governors of the South West to tackle the

unemployment situation in the zone and come up with developmental

paradigm that will ensure immediate employment Regional

development activity centres around strategic hubs, leveraging

comparative advantages

• Integrated, multi-modal transportation infrastructure, connecting

regional and trans-regional development and activity centers

• Common urban architecture – housing, market and urban development

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• Dedicated Yoruba strategy and development think-tankContinued

growth of the economy of the Southwest and employment of Yoruba

without glass ceiling Reposition governance and public institutions for

effective service delivery

• Cultural awakening for positive values, ethos and norms of behaviour

• Restoration South West Nigeria’s competitiveness and its position of

leadership in Nigeria’s economic, social and political development

CONCLUSION OF SUMMIT:

At the end of the Summit, a Summary of the Proceedings was read out aloud,

with a pledge to submit this Communique at a later date.

Respectfully Submitted:

Professor M. E. Aluko Dr. Grace Modupe Adebo

Summit Facilitator Summit Co-Facilitator

OCTOBER 19, 2011