The World Bank has commended the Edo State Government for championing the willingness and leadership drive for development, which, according to it, is the fastest in the country.

The bank’s Country Director, Mr Onno Ruhl gave the commendation at the official launch of the 2010 Investment Climate Assessment Report for the country in Benin City.

According to Mr Ruhl, the bank’s executives have already been to Lagos and Abuja, but decided to launch the report in Benin City because, according to him, “we believe that Edo State is one of the states in Nigeria where the willingness to change is the fastest in Nigeria and therefore it is most useful to talk about reports like this in a place where there is the leadership and willingness to change.”

He said: “If there is one thing that Nigeria and Edo State need today, it is job for young people. We know that government alone cannot do it and that most of these jobs are created by small and medium scale enterprises.

On his part, Governor Oshiomhole said “as a government, it is our responsibility to create a conducive environment for businesses to thrive and to compete favourably with others.

“While it must be noted that some of the impediments to the growth of business in Nigeria cannot be remedied by the state particularly in the area of fiscal policies, I am bold to state here that our own government here in Edo State has since taken  bold steps to jumpstart the growth of our local economy and make the state the destination of choice for investors across all the key sectors.”

The Governor said the state has taken some steps to position the state so it could compete favourably among its peers in the nation.

He said as a result of the steps taken, the state has been able to reduce waste in the system to a manageable level and the savings further invested in education, health, security, water and sanitation.

He also said the Government has made significant private sector investments in key areas such as power and modern markets development.

Governor Oshiomhole also noted youth employment and security of lives and property and reduction in the turn-around time in service delivery as some of the achievements of the state government.

In his welcome address, the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. John Inegbedion said the forum was to x-ray the investment climate assessment report, identify challenges and successes as well as find the way out.