Ogun is working towards becoming an oil-producing state, Governor Dapo Abiodun has said.

He said his administration was determined to take advantage of the state’s oil deposit.

The governor said this while delivering the lecture at the second and third convocation ceremony of the Mountain Top University, Makogi Oba, Ogun State.

He spoke on the topic: “Quest for excellence: The nexus of faith, knowledge and resilience.”

The governor expressed disappointment that Ogun lost the $16billion Dangote refinery to Lagos after a break in talks between the immediate-past administration and Dangote.

He, however, expressed optimism that the state would soon become oil producing.

Abiodun said: “We are working assiduously on that, so, I accept this challenge. We will further strengthen our resolve to ensure that we bring Ogun State to oil-producing status in the very near future. I worked as chairman of Olokola Free Trade Zone that was meant to have the Dangote refinery cited in Ogun Waterside.

“However, discussion broke down between Dangote and the then administration which led to the loss of that project to Lagos; $16 billion was lost to another state.

“That project was conceived with the aim of not just refining petroleum in Ogun, but also taking advantage of the mining lease that had been awarded around that corridor that has even not begun to be exploited,” he said.

The governor affirmed that the state has very rich oil reserves in Tongeji Island.

“Ogun State is situated in the Dahomey Basin, which stands for the Niger Delta that goes all the way to Ghana. Every one of the states in that corridor is oil-producing today, even Ondo and Lagos states,” Abiodun added.

.Courtesy (excluding headline) The Nation

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