Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Monday
received the management of British American Tobacco Company on a courtesy
visit, commending the company’s investment in Nigeria even as he urged the
organization to do business with very strong conscience about what is right and
what is safe for the consumers.
The Governor who spoke at the Lagos House, Ikeja when he received the team led by the Managing
Director, West Africa, Mr Keith Gretton
said a company like the British American Tobacco Company should be thinking
about how it can better prolong the lives of the people for whom it also make
products.
“I think that an organization like yours should be able think of
how they can better prolong the lives of the people for whom, you also make
products and now, we are seeing a lot of diseases today as a result of
lifestyle choices and lifestyle issues and they are getting much more complex
with substance dependency and so on and so forth”, the Governor said.
According to Governor Fashola, “The organization should stand up
to be counted in terms of advancing regulations pertaining to its products.
These are places where I would strongly think that your organization put a
strong foot forward in terms of full appreciation of the need to intervene in
advance of regulation as it were because I know that the lifestyle choices that
people make especially in the kind of products that you make can also have
certain health consequences and I think that it is important to help people to
promote the risk voluntarily and openly in a manner that people therefore know
what choices they have”, he reiterated.
The Governor said it was refreshing to learn about investments
being made in the Nigerian market and also the indicators of further
commitments being made by the organisation, adding that the benefits in terms
of employment to people also comes
clearly across, adding that the administration will also continue to play its
part in terms of infrastructure support.
“We as a government remain committed to supporting businesses by
filling in with the hardware end of the matter such as infrastructure, security
and also continue to provide the environment in which your human capital can
thrive and prosper”.
Governor Fashola said in the area of security, the State
Government encourages institutions such as Foundations like that of the British
American Tobacco Company to look at the bouquet of opportunities to support the
State Security Trust Fund which is an entirely voluntary venture that helps the
State to resource the security personnel in the state in terms of equipment,
vests, boots, patrol vehicles and so on.
He reiterated that whatever support that is given is not only well
received but is accounted for as the Trust Fund holds annual General Meetings
and yearly publishes the list of the donors since 2008 without failing.
According to the Governor, the donations have helped in providing
some structure around which the resource management and logistics of the
federal controlled but state deployed Police is managed, saying it is something
he will commend support for the Security Trust Fund to the company as a matter
of sensible self-interest.
Speaking earlier, the Managing Director, Mr Keith Gretton had
commended the infrastructure regeneration work which the Governor Fashola led
administration is doing in Lagos State as well as the widely acknowledged
security sector in the state.
He added that over the years the British American Tobacco Company
West Africa has become a vital business for BAT globally with Nigeria being one
of the top ten globally out of 180 countries where BAT is present.
Mr. Gretton stressed that the company is involved in some
agriculture programme in Lagos and has about three to four ongoing projects at
various stages helping women and the youth.
The Governor was joined by some members of the State Executive
Council including the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mrs Sola Oworu,
Finance, Mr Ayo Gbeleyi, Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Ben Akabueze, and
Special Adviser on Revenue and Taxation, Mr Bola Shodipo while those on the
entourage of the Managing Director of British American Tobacco Company include
the Head, Corporate Regulatory Affairs (West Africa), Mr Freddy Mensahvi, and
Legal Director (West Africa), Mrs Sade Morgan among others.
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