Hammed Shittu
15 January 2008
Ilorin — Kwara state Governor, Dr. Bukola Saraki yesterday officially commissioned multi million naira Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), Ilorin branch with the state government disclosing that its is collaborating with some commercial banks in the state to provide N5billion loans to the teachers.
Saraki, who spoke at the epoch making ceremony in Ilorin to mark the opening of the NSE in the state told the mammoth crowd that the provision of such funds to the teachers would go along way in assisting the NSE to raise more stocks for the economic growth of the state.
According to him, the official commissioning of the NSE in the state is the commitment of the present administration to see to the overall economic drive of the state that would allow every citizen to have access to funds for the socio-economic advancement of the people. He said that since the government came into power in year 2003, the government has been engaging in private partnership with the people which according to him culminated in "what we are witnessing here today with the commissioning of the multi million naira Nigeria Stock Exchange in the state".
Saraki who said that the establishment of the stocks market in the state was first of its kind since the creation of the state said that the gesture would assist the people of the state to have access to stocks that can be used to create wealth for the overall economic emancipation of the people in the state.
He added that before the advent of the present government in the state, the state is known as a civil service state but in the past five years, the story has changed for the better.
The governor stressed further that with the new development, industrialists would now have access to stocks that can be turning around for the development of their businesses.
In her remarks, the Director- General of the NSE, Professor Ndi Okereke -Onyuike commended stakeholders for their sacrifice in making the project a reality while appealing to the people of the state to make use of the opportunity by investing in stock trading so as to boost the economic development of the state.
Okereke said the development would attract a lot of economic activities to the doorsteps of the people in the state.She stated that the essence of the NSE is to create wealth for the people in the state noting that it would go along way of reducing poverty among the citizenry."One thing is to suggest and have a dream, another thing is to be able to execute it. We are happy to say the good vision of Governor Saraki who was once a banker now politician to assist the people of the state has come to fruition by having a world class electronic trading in Kwara state" she maintained. In his remarks at the ceremony, the President of the NSE, Oba Otudeko described the state governor as "a God-sent leader that was chosen to take the economic growth of Kwara state to greater height".He said that " I am very happy with what have been hearing and even seen on the superlative performances of governor Saraki since he assumed the leadership of Kwara and the people of the state are so lucky to have taken him away from Lagos to Ilorin to come and rule you".Otudeko, however, called on the people of the state to make use of the NSE branch in the state noting that the commissioning of the project was the 10th of its kind in Nigeria apart from the one at the headquarters in Lagos and Abuja .
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