How are you?

Let me start by thanking everyone who sent me a condolence message over the death of my elder brother, Sunday. The outpour of your sympathies, even when some of you did not personally know Sundo, was really touching. May God bless you and keep you.

After the short break, I have since returned to work. My first port of call was a trip to Ethiopia for the African Business Forum (ABF) 2025. It was an opportunity to network with business and other leaders as we build on our wins over the past, almost six years, and consolidate on the foundation we have already built.

As a forward-looking government, we have focused on taking advantage of every opportunity to create prosperity for our people, and this forum provided another such opportunity. As I stated during our show and tell session, Oyo State is leveraging the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to collaborate with African National leaders. We are going into trade talks with our neighbours – the Republic of Benin. I will be having meetings with their representatives within the next month to determine collaborations.

Also, within the next two weeks, the President of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Julius Maada Bio, will visit us here in Oyo State. One of his big interests is the success story of the Fasola Agribusiness Industrial Hub. We have been getting visits from both within and outside Nigeria to the hub before now, but this visit is remarkable because this is the first time a sitting President will be visiting the hub.