WE CAN’T KILL LOCAL PRODUCTION AND EXPECT NAIRA TO RISE – LASCOPA GM, AFOLABI SOLEBO • Bags Public Service Leadership Award
By Oki Samson, Trek Africa Newspaper
General Manager, LASCOPA, Mr. Afolabi Solebo
The currency of a country will only rise when the productive capacity of the country rises. This is the submission of the General Manager of Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA), Mr. Afolabi Solebo when he bagged the participated in the panel session at the just-concluded 9th edition of Trek Africa National Discourse and Honours 2022.
The panel session also comprised Prince Adewale Adenle, Secretary, Public Account Committee, Lagos House of Assembly; Mrs. Stella Obi, MD of BestChoice Cosmetics and Fragrances; Eva Banjo, MD of Eva Travels & Tours; Nkemjika Okeke, CEO of Agrovat Ltd; Barr. Evans Ufeli; Barr. Bolaji Adeniji Adele; and Amb. Sina Bilesanmi, President of Association of Telephone, Cable TV & Internet Subscribers of Nigeria (ATCIS).
L-R: Publisher, Trek Africa Newspaper, Oki Samson; Human Right Lawyer, Barr. Evans Ufeli; General Manager, Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, LASCOPA, Mr. Afolabi Solebo and Chief Operating Officer, BuyLetLive Company, Modupe Agbolahan during the presentation of Trek Africa Public Service Leadership Personality Award to Mr. Afolabi Solebo at the 9th edition of Trek Africa National Discourse and Honours TAND2022 held at Elomaz hotel, Maryland, Lagos.
Mr. Afolabi Solebo didn’t mince words on the theme, Naira on Free Fall: The Politics, The Policies, The Way Forward, ‘We are killing local production and we want naira to rise. We solely rely on foreign industry, we need to build our MSMEs. Nobody want to start from the scratch. It is affecting each and every sphere of our life. Stop thinking about money first. We keep running after money to the detriment of our health.’
Solebo who took the helms at LASCOPA in 2020 queried the audience during the panel session anchored by the Editor of Trek Africa Newspaper, Abayomi Oyelami. ‘How many of us go to Lagos International Trade Fair hosted by Lagos Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Cooperatives? Go and see things that Nigerians are producing. How are we encouraging them to register with NAFDAC, MAN, and SON. Do your own best where you find yourself. If we have confidence in ourselves and what we do, we will succeed.’
‘What I can do in my country, I can’t do in America because I can’t be free. Unfortunately the laws are there in this country e.g. consumer rights. But if nobody is saying ‘enough is enough’, it will continue’, Mr. Solebo concluded.
