The American Walmart Supermarkets are coming to Lagos as the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Thursday received a delegation of Walmart Incorporated, a leading global brand in retail supermarket, where he gave a commitment that the state is ready to give necessary support to assist them establish presence in the state.
Receiving the delegation led by the President and Chief Executive Officer of Walmart Europe, Middle East, Africa and Canada, Shelley Broader, Governor Ambode said the presence of the Walmart brand in Lagos will go a long way not only to create jobs for teeming youths, but also boost the economy of the state.
He said the success story of the brand, which currently operates in 28 countries with over 2.2 million employees, will be beneficial to the growth of the state as well as his vision to make life comfortable for residents.
“That summaries the reason why Walmart has to berth in Lagos. We are committed to expanding the business scope for Walmart and like I said, I am interested in having your brand signature in Lagos”.
“You’ve been pro-people and that’s why we find a congress between the objectives of Walmart and Lagos State Government”.
“As we speak, we have a population of over 21 million people and four million of that population is in the middle class. We have a bulging youth that is craving for employment and whatever it is that we do, we want to make sure that we attract as much investment in Lagos that can help us to take our youths off the streets and give them employment”, he said.
“What I stand here to offer is the commitment to make the investment clime favourable to investors. We want to ensure that whatever it is that would make the business bigger for you, we are committed to it”.
“I also want to let you know that we are committed to the judicial and security sector reforms and in the last sixty days, we have continued in the areas of reforms that the past administration had also established to ensure that investments are well protected and that the sanctity of law is protected in this state”.
“I want to assure that if it’s in the area of land permits or authorization for issues that relate to setting up business, we are committed to make sure that we fast-track and do it as transparent as possible to allow more businesses come to Lagos”, the Governor said.
Earlier, Shelley Broader acknowledged the investment opportunities that abound in the state, adding that the Group is ready to expand its business horizon and create jobs for the people.
“We are incredibly excited and proud to be in this exciting state of Lagos. Just looking at the burgeoning economy and at the growth in this market is very exciting and now Walmart operates around the world in 28 countries and our mission is to lower the cost of living, to help people save and live better”.
“The passion that you feel right when you land at the airport, there’s an excitement here. You can feel that this is a state within a country really on the move forward. There is a smile on the people’s faces, there is eagerness and there’s a mission that they’re on to better themselves and their families. It’s very exciting”, she said.