By James Ogunnaike

GOVERNOR Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, yesterday, disclosed that the owner states of the Oodua Investment Company Limited have decided against interfering in the running of the conglomerate.

Abiodun said this while receiving the board and management of the conglomerate, led by its Group Chairman, Bimbo Ashiru.

He, however, expressed delight at the successes recorded by the company in recent years.

Abiodun noted that he and the other South-West governors adopted a non-interference approach to reposition the conglomerate to reflect the true worth of the people of the zone.

His words: “I want to recall that in 2019 when I assumed office, my colleagues and I sat and we decided that it was high time we began the process of repositioning Oodu’a and that the present Oodu’a at that time did not reflect the quality of us as a people of the South-West.

“We decided that no longer would we want an Oodu’a where the members that represent the various states are just politicians; that we would ensure that we have members that are fit for purpose, and also that we should ensure that even the management itself and the directors are professionally recruited so that they can complement the board.

“Today’s Oodu’a is a complete departure, night and day from what Oodu’a used to be.

“I want to commend your sense of creativity, direction, purpose, sincerity, and commitment to all that you signed up to do, and we are very happy with the results we have seen.

“Because of that, all the governors have adopted a non-interference approach; we have decided not to interfere with you. We are happy with what we are seeing.”

Earlier in his remarks, Mr Ashiru commended the governors of member states for appointing capable hands to various boards of the company, noting that the issue of diversification is very key to the company.

Ashiru also disclosed that the company has been given a license for the marginal field, noting that Odu’a Investment Company is on the verge of becoming an oil-producing organization in the country.