Information reaching ViewPointNigeria indicates that Governor Lalong has travelled to the UK in pursuit of foreign investors and in a bid to consolidate on gains of previous business trips he undertook to China and the USA. This would be the 9th  foreign trip the governor would be making since assuming office on May 29th 2015. Equating to an average of one trip per month.

Our contacts within government sources confirmed that the Governor left Jos on Friday for Abuja, in company of top government officials and aides and then was said to have departed the Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport, Abuja on Sunday to London, UK.

It would be recalled that Governor Lalong undertook a 2 week business trip in China at the end of April 2016 to lure Chinese investors with opportunities in agriculture, solid minerals and energy. He then flew into Denver Colorado, USA to attend the National Ground Water Association (NGWA) conference from 24 – 27 April 2016, before proceeding to London for further meetings, enroute Abuja on 28th April 2016.

The purpose of this trip was not officially confirmed, but our sources averred that the Governor may be in pursuit of investors because of the dire state of the state’s finances and the inability of the Federal Government to provide adequate subvention etc.

Given the very desperate financial state of the state, with a backlog of salaries (5 months), pension arrears/gratuity and stalled capital projects, the governor is up and doing to source-out ways of generating free-cash flow to finance the needs of the state.

It remains unclear what dividends the other 8 other trips have yielded since no tangible investments have been seeded – but investigations by ViewPointNigeria suggest that the trip to China, was relatively successful because it signficantly wet the appetite of the Chinese investors and several of them showed interest in coming to seed capital in Plateau – albeit this is yet to happen.

Being in the UK, ViewPointNigeria is already making efforts for a media chat with the Governor on sundry issues

count | 426

Lalong travels to the UK in 9th foreign trip