Policy makers and investors in Ogun State have urged state government to encourage private investment in infrastructural development. This was said during the Day 2 of the recently concluded Ogun State Investors Forum, where over 1,000 key players in the industrial, agricultural and technological sectors, gathered in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru spoke about the state’s solid mineral potentials.
He said in 2016, Nigeria mined 43.4 million tonnes of solid minerals in which Ogun State alone produced 16.3million tonnes, representing 37.65 percent among the 36 States of the federation.
The commissioner also noted that the State has the largest concentration of steel factories in the country and urged automobile industries to take advantage of this to establish their factories.
“We have 12 industrial solid minerals available in the state. Ogun State is also one of the largest producers of cement in the country.”
The Chairman of Petrolex Oil and Gas, Segun Adebutu hailed Ogun State as a front-burner in industrial development, including oil and gas.
He was full of praise for Ogun State and Governor Ibikunle Amosun for the robust support provided during the construction of the Petrolex Mega Oil City at Ibefun, beginning in 2011 when he shared the plan. He also found the governor’s background in Finance useful, as he gave Petrolex advice key to the success of the project.
According to Adebutu, he was elated when the first phase of the mega oil city, a 300 million-litre capacity tank farm was completed.
“Many people thought an oil and gas hub in Ogun State was farfetched and impossible” Adebutu said. “On December 12, 2017, I declared that Ogun state is now home to the largest tank farm in Sub-Saharan Africa. But that is just Phase 1 of the project.” he added.
The next phase of the Petrolex Mega Oil City includes 250,000 barrels per day refinery, a lube plant, gas bottling plant, and a fertilizer plant. The project will gulp over $5 billion within the next 5 years. Already, over $330 million has been invested.
“This shows that Ogun-state is a front-burner in development, in everything, including oil and gas.”
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), Yewande Sadiku, outlined NIPC’s ambitious plan to attract more investments to states. She praised Ogun state’s drive towards industrialization.
” We should not underestimate what it takes to attract investors, and the fact that Ogun state has been so successful in attracting investors, especially in the area of manufacturing.”
Sadiku pointed out that a total of N5.4 billion investment announcements has been made for Ogun State in petrol chemical, solid minerals, agriculture and manufacturing. She implored the state government to provide the necessary infrastructure to ensure that the entire investment announcement made by NIPC become a reality.
The Ogun State investors forum is a yearly gathering of investors, industry leaders, and policy makers to set the agenda for the next phase of industrialization in Ogun State. This year, the two-day event was attended by the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, and the former president of Mexico, Mr Felippe Calderon.
