Femi Ogbonnikan
The unrelenting effort by the administration of Governor Dapo Abiodun to open up Ogun State for local and direct foreign investments by creating an enabling environment reflects a strong desire for sustainable economic growth. So far, the effort has not gone without some resounding successes. Like never before, every passing day now presents a new opportunity for employment generation, as investment inflow is steadily trickling in one after the other.
There is no saying that Ogun State has the potential for greatness based on its human and material endowments. But somebody tirelessly worked to lay the foundation that has turned the State into the most financially and economically viable in the country. Somebody worked out the framework for harnessing those resources to make it the envy of others.
As already well known, only six states in Nigeria are financially independent, according to recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reports. The states are Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, Kaduna, Kwara, Oyo, and Edo. They have consistently ranked high in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), indicating a strong local economy. Lagos is considered the most economically viable state due to its high IGR and large commercial activity. Ogun State, the topmost investment destination after Lagos, benefits from its proximity to the nation’s commercial nerve centre. Rivers, Kaduna, Oyo and Edo maintain significant performance in revenue generation.
Thus, as the Abiodun administration’s drive for investment inflow gradually begins to yield positive results, Ogun State’s economy holds a promising future for industrial growth. Another testament to the success of the administration’s effort to attract investment is the planned establishment of a cotton and apparel industry in the state with a projected capacity to employ up to 40,000 people.
Governor Abiodun disclosed the good news on Thursday, precisely February 13, 2025 when he received the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator John Owan Enoh, and his team, who paid him a courtesy call in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
According to him, the groundbreaking ceremony of the industry which will be the biggest in West Africa would be performed any time soon at the Special Agro-Processing Zone. Hear from the horse’s mouth: “We are planning to house the biggest cotton and apparel industry, perhaps in West Africa, and the groundbreaking is scheduled to take place soon. That industry promises to employ about 40,000 people when it starts, and they are all in our Special Processing Zone.
“What we did is co-locate the Special Agro-Processing Zone with our airport, and we are just at the final stage of completing our Ogun State Agro-cargo and passenger airport. We call the entire place an aerotropolis where we have the airport, the Special Agro-Processing Zone, and the new andp biggest customs facilities in Nigeria.
“That airport is an ecosystem of different things, and all centers around efficiency and production.”
He said the decision to establish the industry aligned with his blueprint for the state’s economy focusing on creating a conducive business environment based on public-private partnership (PPP) as encapsulated in Infrastructure, Social Welfare and Wellbeing, Education, Youth Employment, and Agriculture (ISEYA) mantra of the administration.”
Towards the realization, the Governor stated that efforts had been largely focused on an aggressive road construction, provision of affordable housing and healthcare, building and renovation of schools, and youth empowerment, among others.
Making quick reference to the construction of three major roads—the Sagamu-Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode-Epe, and the Agbara-Lusada-Atan roads—which were in deplorable states, he said the infrastructure policy of the administration was to open up the state for easy movement of investors and the people of the state.
While highlighting the state’s potential as an industrial hub, he listed abundance of minerals like bitumen, limestone, silica and gold among resources endowment giving the state its competitive edge. He further noted that Ogun among the six states given approval to operate a Special Processing Zone, expressing confidence that it would be a reference point in the country.
The governor assured that he would leverage the State’s closeness to Lagos, the nation’s financial capital with the busiest air and sea ports, to achieve its industrial target, while also working to becoming an oil-producing state.
In line with the administration’s integrated development plan. Governor Abiodun disclosed that his administration was working on generating power that would offer industries and companies in the state the cheapest source of energy.
When eventually become operational, the cotton industry will complement the administration’s effort to revive the Adire industry and its value chain.
While responding, Senator Enoh described Ogun State as Nigeria’s major industrial base.
His words: “I thank Ogun State for being such a good host to industries. I thank you for encouraging the growth of industry. I think that we, as a people and a country, believe this visit brings back to life and helps our industries understand the role they play.
“We appreciate the constraints our industries are facing as part of the general constraints in our country, but the advantages that lie in this country are enormous as well. So while the constraints are being grappled with, the good thing is that there are potentials that continue to exist, and I think that by working with industries and the private sector, we will be able to achieve the goals of this administration.”
He said he was in the state on an “industry push” to see how the government could collaborate and partner with industries for the economic advancement of the country in line with President Bola Tinubu’s eight-point agenda, which includes industry and the need for diversification through industrialization, digitalization, innovations, and manufacturing.
The effort to build Cotton and Apparel Industry to boost employment generation is coming on the heels of a similar proposal by the British government to set up a five million dollar battery recycling company in the state.
The agreement was reached with the British High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr. Richard Montgomery, late last year, when he led some officials of the Commission on a courtesy call on Prince Abiodun, in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The investment inflow follows the initiative of Ogun Invest deliberately created by the Abiodun administration to drive capital investment in the State.
According to Mr. Montgomery, when operational, the recycling plant would be the best in Africa. “My brief visit to this state is about the deal put together for recycling, which is moving out of Lagos State and establishing a new plant here for recycling e-waste.
“The OgunInvest and the Director General, Lands are working to ensure the deal comes off the line, and I am glad to be here to join the final conversation. I think that will bring new technology and new jobs to the State.
“The battery we will be manufacturing in Ogun State will be the first of its kind in Africa, and we will make the State the leader in battery recycling in Africa.
“For the first time, it is now possible to recycle the cell back into chemical form in Africa and export the black mass, which contains the minerals inside the battery, to make new batteries.
“It is really exciting that we received support from OgunInvest, and officials from the Bureau of Lands confirmed the Certificate of Occupancy (CofO). We can say that the investment will be about five million dollars, and we want Ogun State to be the place where this industry can grow,” the High Commissioner stated.
He further assured that his country would like to participate in energy, technology, tertiary education, agricultural processing, and also explore how to find more United Kingdom-linked companies to invest in the State, adding that discussions were ongoing with the state team on how to proceed in that direction.
Mr. Montgomery hinted that the visit to the state was partly to review the progress being made in Ogun as the industrial hub of the nation and how the State had fared in the areas of infrastructure and creating a conducive environment for business to thrive.
The High Commissioner said that his country was not only interested in what the state had achieved in the last five years but was also trying to identify business opportunities for his government and his country’s companies to invest in.
He stated that the British International Investment, a financial development institution, had invested in one of the major cashew processing and export companies, adding that his country was ready to offer technical assistance to the state’s mass transit system, which was being test-run.
Responding, Governor Abiodun boasted of the State’s large expanse of land suitable for the cultivation of food and cash crops as well as large deposits of limestone and other minerals available in the State.
He described Ogun state as a home to numerous manufacturing companies and the biggest industrial park as a result of the gas pipelines from the Niger Delta that crisscross the length and breadth of the State.
The governor stated that the state was doing well in the area of agriculture, contributing significantly to food security in the country, while also repositioning the education and other critical sectors in the State.
It is worth noting that the achievements the administration has recorded in terms of investment inflow can be partly linked to the Ogun State Investment and Facilitation Agency (OGUNINVEST) established barely four months into the first tenure of the Abiodun administration.
Since then, it has continued to play the role of an enabler and a facilitator to help the private sector grow, to create jobs and generate wealth for all in Ogun State.
The Agency has continued to strengthen good governance by helping the state to attract more investment and further diversify the state economy.
With sustained drive, there is a promising future for the state as an investment destination of choice in the country and the West African sub region.
*Ogbonnikan writes from Abeokuta, Ogun State capital
