Olokola FTZ: Aiyedatiwa Inaugurates Technical Committee To Fast-track Projects Reactivation In Coastline

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In a further move to jumpstart project reactivation and other businesses in the coastline zone of Ondo State, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa has inaugurated the Technical Committee on the Olokola Free Trade Zone (OKFTZ).

The committee is expected to as impetus to the realization of the renewed interest of the Dangote Group to establish Nigeria’s largest industrial and free trade hub in the state.

At the inauguration on Monday in the Governor’s Office, Alagbaka , Akure, the state capital, Aiyedatiwa described the event as a historic step towards the reactivation and optimisation of the Olokola corridor.

He declared that his administration is determined to transform the project from a long-standing concept into a thriving economic reality.

Recalling that the Olokola Free Trade Zone was conceived in 2005 as a joint initiative of the Ondo and Ogun State governments, Governor Aiyedatiwa said the zone was designed as a strategic economic gateway for the South-West and Nigeria as it’s situated along the coastlines of both states with direct access to the Atlantic Ocean.

He explained that the project has the potential to become one of Africa’s leading maritime, industrial and logistics hubs due to its strategic location and abundant natural resources.

The governor lamented that the vision had remained dormant for nearly two decades, noting that the people of Ondo State had long perceived the coastline as a source of thousands of jobs, major investments and accelerated industrialisation, but had been undermined by policy gaps, coordination challenges and implementation delays.

He, therefore, assured investors and development partners of the state’s readiness to support investment initiatives.

It would be recalled that a fortnight ago, the President of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, visited the governor and expressed the company’s resolve to return to Olokola FTZ and develop the largest industrial and free trade hub in Nigeria there.

He said the proposed development, which he said would take off in the last quarter of this year, would include independent power generation, gas infrastructure, cement production facilities and a plug-and-play environment for investors.

Governor Aiyedatiwa explained that members of the technical committee were selected based on competence, integrity, experience and proven records in infrastructure, finance, law, trade and project management.

The committee is headed by Chief Bode Sunmonu, with Yinka Orokoto, Sola Adebisi, Idowu Ojo and Femi Akarakiri as members, while Emmanuel Omomowo is the secretary.

Stating the roles of the committee, the governor said it would undertake a comprehensive review of all legal instruments governing the project, including joint venture and shareholders’ agreements, powers of attorney and documents relating to IPEM’s divestment of equity to the Dangote Group.

It will also serve as the interface between the Ondo State Government and key stakeholders, including the Dangote Group, IPEM, OKFTZC, OKFTZE, the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), the Deep-Sea Port Authority, the Ogun State Government and relevant federal agencies.

The committee will also do the verification of land ownership and status within the zone, identification of encroachments and alienation issues, resolution of outstanding community matters, including compensation for economic trees and crops, and engagement with host communities and groups to sustain support for the project.

Aiyedatiwa, therefore, charged members of the committee to discharge their responsibilities with urgency, transparency and patriotism, noting that they had been entrusted with the historic task of restoring the Olokola project to its intended position.

He gave the committee six weeks to submit its report, a timeline informed by the Dangote Group’s planned mobilisation to the site.

The Chairman of the Technical Committee, Chief Bode Sunmonu, assured the governor that the committee would deliver within the stipulated period, revealing that work had commenced even before the formal inauguration.

Sunmonu commended the governor for his commitment to reviving the project, noting that the conducive investment environment created by the administration contributed to the return of the Dangote Group.

He said the development is a major boost for industrialisation, job creation and economic prosperity, Sunmonu noted that the benefits of investments in the zone would be shared by Ondo and Ogun states irrespective of location and pledged that all technical requirements would be handled transparently and in line with global best practices.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of ONDIPA, Mr Emmanuel Omomowo, pledged the agency’s full support for the Technical Committee on the Geo-Local Africa Zone project.

He described the inauguration as a landmark event marking a critical stage in efforts to revive a project that had remained an unrealised aspiration for Ondo State for nearly two decades.

Among dignitaries present at the inauguration are Deputy Governor Dr Olayide Adelami; Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Olamide Oladiji; Chief Judge of Ondo State, Justice Olusegun Odusola; Chief of Staff, Prince Segun Omojuwa; members of the State Executive Council; Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt Hon Ololade Gbegudu; Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Engr Leye Akinola; Director-General of OSRC Media Group, Mr Kenneth Odusola-Stevenson; State Coordinator of Renewed Hope Ambassadors, Rt Hon Victor Olabimtan; and Chairman of the Ondo State Internal Revenue Service, Mr Bayo Rojugbonkan, and others.