By Femi Ogbonnikan
This is another assessment season for governments, corporate bodies, and individuals. For the administration of the Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, the 2024 fiscal year was a year of great accomplishments in very many respects. From road infrastructure development projects to healthcare delivery service, human capital development, domestic and foreign investment inflow, security, Easy-of-Doing-business index, and economic growth, etcetera, achievements within the year have been quite tremendous.
All these did not happen by accident. It’s the outcome of diligent planning, commitment, policy consistency, and prudent management of resources. To begin with infrastructure development, there is a long list of landmark projects the administration has commissioned that have added to the fortune of the state’s economy and industry. As of today, over 600 kilometres of roads have been constructed across the state to ease the movement of goods and persons. Apart from internal connectivity, priority has also been given to the highways that connect Ogun with neighbouring states, particularly Lagos.
The most recent of these is the Denro-Ishasi-Akute Road commissioned by Governor Abiodun at the tail end of the year. Until the intervention of the present government, the road had suffered prolonged neglect under successive administrations.
Similarly, construction work on the Akute-Oke Aro road within Ifo Local Government Area is also progressing simultaneously. While commissioning the Ojodu Abiodun-Denro-Ishasi-Akute Road, the governor promised to complete the project within the shortest possible time, signaling a new dawn for these suburb communities. Among others, Denro-Ishashi is one of the fastest growing communities in Ogun State. Its rapidly expanding population is as a result of affordable housing. Bordering Nigeria’s largest commercial city, Lagos, it has continued to witness an increase in the influx of people who cannot afford the rising trend of accommodation rent. With the current economic challenges facing the nation, rent in Lagos has gone beyond the reach of average income households. So, the community offers itself as an alternative settlement option.
But the deplorable condition of the road has for so long remained a nightmare for the residents. The agony of the people in the affected areas had been a popular reference point for the media before Governor Abiodun’s intervention. However, through the intervention of the Abiodun administration, the road has been restored to a better shape to ease the suffering of people in the area.
Thus, people can now travel between Lagos and Ogun State in less than an hour for a journey that would hitherto take two or three hours or even more before the advent of the present administration. More and more people are now coming to Ogun State to live, to work and to hold conferences because of easy accessibility.
While construction work on the 20-kilometre Agbara-Lusada-Atan in Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area is almost being completed, Prince Abiodun has equally put Ajuwon and Akute-Ajuwon roads on the priority list, saying “I am a promise-keeping governor.”
For so long, the Agbara-Lusada-Atan road has been in a deplorable condition. Yet, the road is of great economic importance to the State and the nation as a whole.” Prince Abiodun maintained that his administration had kept faith with his promise to ensure that road construction was evenly spread across the 20 local governments in the state.
The ever-busy Lagos-Ota-Sango-Abeokuta which has remained a nightmare to the commuters and motorists along the corridor also received the attention of the Ogun State government under Prince Dapo Abiodun. Ordinarily, the road is a direct responsibility of the Federal Government but bureaucratic bottleneck had stalled the joint efforts of the Ogun State government and its counterpart in Lagos State to take over the financing of it in the interest of the commuting public. However, following persistent agitation that culminated in the eventual handing over of the road to the two states, the contract for the reconstruction work was awarded to Craneburg Construction Company in May 2024. This was borne out of the concern to relieve the people of the pain they go through on a daily basis.
In addition to this, the governor has also facilitated other federal projects including Laderin Train Station road phase one, Abeokuta. The project is in two phases beginning from Laderin to the train station with the channelization of storm water to the drainages.
Beyond that, the Ogun State ministry of Works and Infrastructure is also collaborating with the Federal Government to rehabilitate additional 21 roads across the state, beginning with Ado Odo/Ota, Yewa North and Yewa South, as well as Abeokuta North and Abeokuta South. One of such key projects is the ongoing reconstruction of Sango-Atan-Owode-Idi-Iroko Road. The project has been on paper for so many years.
The real game changer is the Gateway Agro-Cargo International Airport, Ilishan-Remo billed to commence flight operations anytime from now. Though a capital-intensive project, the Airport was built in a record-breaking short period of two years, thus, making it the fastest to be constructed ever in the history of this country. It recorded the first historic flight landing sometime last year. As already projected, the Airport will begin scheduled and non-scheduled flights any time from now, as the approval process to get the airport running has reached an advanced stage.
Power is the engine room of economic and industrial growth. To give further boost to industrial transformation initiative of the administration, Governor Abiodun has expressed interest in acquiring the Hydro Power Plant situated at the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority to facilitate the availability of energy for investors in the state. The importance of the long-abandoned Hydro Power Plant to the state’s economy cannot be over-emphasized. When successfully resuscitated, it will attract sufficient energy for business interests in the state. It will also highlight the state’s potential as a hub for industrial activities by ensuring affordable energy costs through this acquisition.
For the health concern, the recent transfer of the 250-bed capacity hospital, Abeokuta is a further testament to the administration’s commitment to accessible healthcare service delivery to the good people of Ogun State.
The project was 65 percent completion level when former governor Ibikunle Amosun abandoned it midway. Realising the state’s financial incapacitation due to the challenge of the current economy, the present government decided to enter into concessionary arrangements with global health management institutions to compete and run the hospital on behalf of the state government.
While performing the handover ceremony to Viewpoint Health Management Services Limited and Pan African Capital Holdings at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Abiodun assured that the 250-bed Specialist Hospital would start operations in March 2025 in the first instance and subsequently commence full operations in June of the same year.
“This hospital will meet the precise needs of our population. It is scheduled for partial opening in March 2025 and full operations in June 2025.
“From what we have seen and done, if that hospital is properly run, medical tourism will be attracted to that hospital,” he enthused.
Governor Abiodun further emphasized that the hospital would be equipped with advanced facilities and cutting-edge technology for effective healthcare delivery, as well as serve as a referral centre for medical research, training, and innovation.
The Abiodun administration’s commitment to affordable housing aligns with its urban regeneration policy as well as the new housing policy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. So far, the administration has built over 4,000 houses across the state, while also working towards the delivery of 10,000 housing units before the end of the second tenure of Governor Abiodun.
The governor gave the assurance when he received the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Mr. Oyetunde Oladimeji Ojo, who paid him a courtesy call in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
“To date, we have built about 4,000 affordable houses within four years, and we are still building. By the time I’m done, we will probably build about 10,000 houses,” he said.
Another project called “Civil Servants Village,” sitting on a 50-hectare of land is also ongoing to give opportunity for members of the state workforce to buy land and build their houses.
The governor further assured that his administration would establish a system where Nigerians in the Diaspora would acquire property in the state online and track their development wherever they are.
For four consecutive sessions under the administration of Abiodun, the state has routinely maintained its competitive edge over the rest parts of the country. The administration has been able to initiate and sustain the trajectory of economic growth through aggressive infrastructure development, improved Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) capacity, industrial investments, human capital development, youth empowerment, improvement in agricultural value chains, land reform policy, Ease-of-Doing-Business, healthcare delivery service, affordable housing and implementation of an integrated transportation master plan, among others.
Over the last five years, there has been continuous improvement in the Ease-of-Doing-Business and land reforms initiative which provide attraction for investors. The same reason also accounted for the creation of four economic zones in the State in addition to the Agbara Industrial Zone, which includes Ota and Kajola axes. At present, Agbara Industrial Zone is arguably the largest industrial zone in Nigeria and probably one of the largest in the continent. It is the zone that makes Ogun State the industrial capital of Nigeria.
As of today, Ogun is among the few states that can survive independently of the Federal Government. Due to the combined effects of creative thinking and prudent management of resources, Ogun State has retained itself as one of Nigeria’s resilient and economically viable states amid the global challenges.
The latest report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) confirms the resilience of the state’s economy based on its sustained growth and enhanced revenue-generating capacity. According to the release, Ogun State increased its IGR in 2023 from N120.58 billion to N146.87 billion made up of N71.67 billion in tax revenues and N75.19 billion. Efforts are also being made to shore up the IGR for better service delivery to the people.
To ensure food self-sufficiency, the Abiodun administration has also initiated rice production to make agriculture another major income earner for the state government with no less than N30 billion as an addition to the Internally Generated Revenue.
As part of his renewed commitment to boost food production in the state, Governor Abiodun recently flagged off the harvest of a 200-hectare rice plantation at Magboro Rice Farm in Obafemi Owode-Local Government Area of the state. The motive for the initiative is to revolutionise the traditional mode of farming to it more productive system.
Traditionally, Ogun State has a long history of rice production, especially the local brand popularly known as Ofada rice. However, large-scale production has been severely limited by the use of indigenous farming methods by small-holder farmers. This is despite the various policies by successive governments to support these local farmers to promote food security and also preserve the cultural heritage.
With the renewed support of the Abiodun administration, culminating in the establishment of the 200-hectare plantation, the state is now prospecting for more income from rice production.
To that extent, Ogun State has joined the league of large-scale rice-producing states in the country. The farm is the brainchild of the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project supported by the World Bank. The initiative aligns with the policy of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to boost agricultural productivity to provide affordable food to the growing populace.
Though there are still challenges to surmount, the outlook of the economy in the New Year looks more promising. There is a silver lining in the sky.
Ogbonnikan writes from Abeokuta, Ogun State capital
