Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau has inaugurated the Plateau State One-Stop Investment Centre (PS OSIC) in Jos to facilitate ease of business transactions for investors in the state.
Speaking at the event on Wednesday at the centre Lalong said the action was critical to the socio-economic development of the state.
“This is an investment mechanism where relevant government agencies are brought together to one location, coordinated and streamlined, to provide efficient and transparent services to investors in the state,” he said.
He said the centre was a demonstration of his administration’s commitment to ease the processes of obtaining business permits and improve quality of regulations that impact the private sector.
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“With our consolidated tax law and legislation to digitize land registry, Plateau has shown it has the right policies and law to support business investments,” he said.
He expressed optimism that the centre would deploy modern technology in the discharge of services, urging them to showcase the potential of the state.
He said the gesture would attract and keep investors to boost economic activities in the state and create employment opportunities.
He said the centre would highlight the areas of comparative advantage of agriculture, tourism and mining in the state to be harnessed by investors.
The governor implored operators of the centre to be hospitable and courteous to their clients, saying defaulters would incur disciplinary actions.
“Government will not hesitate to deal decisively with anyone who engages in acts capable of tarnishing the image of the state or creating bureaucratic bottlenecks that have been removed by the establishment of this centre,” he said.
He said the state was working toward establishing the Plateau State Investment Promotion Centre and was planning to host an Investment and Economic Summit to showcase the potential of the state.
Lalong said the global economy had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, saying new approaches of engaging people in businesses was necessary to adopt.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Joseph Aku appreciated the governor for his support in the completion of the centre.
He said the centre would reduce the cost of processing business documents in the state through the convergence of relevant organisation to fast track the process of accessing relevant documents at the centre
The commissioner also thanked GIZ, German Cooperation, Jos International Breweries and Ministry of Agriculture among other organisations for their support in providing resources and building the capacity of operators of the centre.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the centre currently has 18 participating agencies from both the State and Federal Government.
The centre is to provide services of granting business entry approvals licenses and authorisation.
Other services are providing information on the state economy, investment climate, legal and regulatory framework, among others.