The Ondo State government has disclosed that arrangements have been concluded to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the proposed development of the Ondo deep seaport.
While disclosing the move, the Special Adviser on Entrepreneurship and Innovation to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Summy Smart-Francis, stated that the MOU will be signed on Monday during the investment summit.
According to Smart-Francis, the Chairman of the Investment Committee, the summit will, in no small measure, turn around the state’s economic status.
Addressing journalists at a press conference on Friday in Akure, the state capital, Smart-Francis said the Ondo State Investment Summit 2026, with the theme “The New Order: Forging A Pathway To Prosperity”, would attract investments into the state to create job opportunities and transform the state from a civil service state to an industrial hub.
Smart-Francis added that domestic and international investors, as well as captains of industry, are expected at the summit.
The chairman of the Investment Committee disclosed, “These would boost the economy of the state, and job opportunities would be created by these companies, which would translate to improved internally generated revenue (IGR).”
In his address, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ondo Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA), Mrs Emmanuel Omomowo, said the state is looking into opening all sectors to investors, including the blue economy, agriculture, bitumen, solid minerals, silicon sand, and others.
Omomowo disclosed that the state government has put in place several incentives to make the investment take off seamlessly.
He highlighted the state’s comparative advantages, disclosing that the state government has secured licences for all the solid minerals in the state to facilitate investor operations.
According to him, the state government would provide adequate expanses of land needed by investors, including those investing in agriculture, free of charge.
Razaq Obe, a member of the Summit Committee, assured that the state government would maximise the harvest of the summit.
He explained that “Ondo State is a natural hub for business, putting into consideration the location of the state, which has a boundary with five states and the longest coastline.”
Wale Akinlosotu, the state Commissioner for Community Development and Regional Integration, who is also a member of the summit committee, disclosed that the state is working towards showcasing all economic potentials of the state to the Nigerians in the diaspora to invest in the state.
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