Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has been conferred with the Grand Patron of Ogun State Chambers of Commerce, Mines and Agriculture (OGUNCCIMA), by the Executive Council and Board of Directors of the organisation in recognition of his support for the organised private sector in the State, making him the first State Executive Governor to be conferred with such honour.

Speaking after the conferment, performed by the first woman president of the Association, at the National level, and Chairman of OGUNCCIMA Board of Directors, Chief (Mrs.) Alaba Lawson, at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Governor Abiodun noted that his administration had touched all sectors of the State's economy, particularly road infrastructure.

The Governor stated that all sectors of the State’s economy have continued to receive due attention with the intervention of the ISEYA mantra, which he said is a systemic and interconnected approach that provides the structure for the development and a solid foundation for a better tomorrow, saying the growth of any economy is largely dependent on the availability of the support infrastructure.

He added that the massive investment in security had yielded positive dividends as the State attracts the biggest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country and is adjudged the safest State in Nigeria, noting that his government is reinvigorating the Bank of Industries Matching Fund to adequately support the Small and Medium Enterprises and assured of the timely competition of the ongoing construction of the Agro-Cargo Airport by December,2022.

"In our resolve to empower and mobilise Micro, Small, and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs), we are reinvigorating the OGSG-BOI Matching Fund by re-strategising with Bank of Industry (BOI) for the benefit of businesses operating in agro-allied sectors. In all, we are happy that while existing investments continue to thrive, new investments are also attracted’’, Abiodun said.

The Governor who appreciated OGUNCCIMA for the recognition, described it as a call to further service and higher responsibility, saying he was filled with a sense of gratitude to become the first Executive Governor to be conferred with the honour, as he dedicated it to the Executive Council, workforce, judiciary and legislature.

Speaking earlier, the President, OGUNCCIMA, Alhaji Wasiu Olaleye said the organisation was formed in 1980, as a non-profit making, to serve as a platform for the chamber of commerce movement to interface with the State government and others from the southwest for the region's collective economic development.

Olaleye stated that the mission and vision of OGUNCCIMA were to promote and protect trade domiciled in the State through education, mobilisation and evaluation of stakeholder's performance, adding that the body as at different times promoted, support or opposed legislative and other measures affecting the smooth operation of trade, industry, commerce and agriculture.