The founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola, has expressed concerns over the federal government’s refusal to issue a free trade certificate for his industrial park.

According to Babalola, the certificate would enable foreign companies to establish businesses in the park, thereby boosting Nigeria’s economy.

The legal icon raised the concern on Wednesday in Ado-Ekiti while hosting delegates from the China-Nigeria Consortium on Industry and Education at the ABUAD-China Partnership Forum Meeting.

Addressing journalists, the legal luminary stressed that a free trade zone would facilitate international trade and industrial activities, ultimately contributing to the country’s economic growth.

The elder statesman lamented that such progressive ideas would have been embraced under the defunct regional government system, while also calling for a people-oriented constitution to foster national development.

In his words: “In 1999, I traveled to China. At that time, China was a poor country, but the Chinese people were very wise. They created an area called free trade zone, which allowed countries like the United States and Germany to set up industries there.

“The Chinese learned from these foreign industries, which eventually contributed to their remarkable global development today.

“For the past two years, I have applied for the same concept here, but the government has refused to grant us a free trade certificate. There is an American company ready to begin manufacturing cars in my Industrial Park, but the lack of this certificate has stalled their plans.

“If we still had the regional government system we used to have, we would be more developed than we are today. This is why we need a new constitution.”

In her remarks, Ms. Wendy Wang, the Secretary-General of the China-Nigeria Consortium on Industry and Education, commended Afe Babalola for his visionary achievements in education, engineering, and health.

She described ABUAD as the best institution in Nigeria, highlighting itsintegration of cutting-edge technologies in its curriculum.

A highlight of the event was the presentation of the ‘Chinese Plus Digital Intelligence Education Gold Medal’ to Afe Babalola, in recognition of his commitment to quality and functional education in Nigeria. (Vanguard)