Ogun Seeks OPS Funding For Olokola Deep Seaport

The Ogun State Government and the Organised Private Sector have concluded plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for the construction of the Olokola Deep Seaport located in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of the state.

Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, made this known during a breakfast meeting with chief executive officers of the OPS in Abeokuta, the state capital, on Wednesday, according to a statement from the state.

He said the construction of the Olokola seaport would provide another opportunity for companies in the state to move their goods and equipment.

This, he said, was in addition to the Gateway Agro-Cargo International Airport, which is almost on completion stage, and the planned dry port to be located at Kajola, an outskirt of the state capital.

He was quoted as saying, “I want to share with you the fact that while we are talking about our road, rail and air transport, we will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the private sector players very soon for the construction of our seaport in Olokola.

“This is another giant step to ensure that we enable businesses to continue to thrive in our state.”

The governor said that his administration was working towards putting an end to the multiplicity of taxes in the state, adding that the reforms already put in place by the Ogun State Inland Revenue Service would definitely put paid to the issue.

He also urged businesses to patronise the government whenever they are in need of land, saying that all land belonged to the government.

“On the harmonisation of taxes, we have put in a lot of reforms on our Inland Revenue Service. Be rest assured, be patient with me, slowly and surely, we will remove all these multiplicities of taxes.

“We are also concerned about our physical planning as well. The lands department and physical planning are now working collaboratively to ensure that all the problems we have had in the past are resolved.

“All lands belong to the government. My advice to you is that if you want to buy land, come to the state. We have ensured that any land to be sold to you is properly enumerated and compensated. So, please, I want to discourage all of us from buying land from land speculators,” Abiodun said.

He said his administration would be distributing 5,000 Certificates of Occupancy this Friday.

According to him, the state is now at a vantage position to continue to issue Certificate-of-Occupancy to subscribers with newly acquired equipment that can sign 1,000 C-of-Os daily.

On his part, the Ogun State Chairman of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, George Onafowokan, called on the state government to continue to work towards ensuring that the enablers for businesses to thrive were readily made available in the state.