By Dr Abayomi Arabambi

Prince Dapo Abiodun, the 4th elected Governor of Ogun State since the return of Democracy in 1999 will be rounding off the year two of his 2nd term tenure this May 29.

A product of hostile handover in 2019 with no clear roadmap or note left to guide him, he has diligently and courageously picked his way right in a maze of tortuous course governing a sophisticated state,
in his first term and despite daunting odds ran an all inclusive government of even development without leaving any of the state’s three Senatorial Districts behind.

One sharp sufficing attestation to this is the yellow roof revolution – building infrastructure – rehabilitation and construction, which Abiodun initiated in the health, housing and education sectors, which began during his first term in office, and has also spilled graciously into the current tenure.

Having gotten his rhythm right and consolidating gains of the previous tenure, the sure footed Abiodun is currently raising the bar of governance and working to leave Ogun better and more prosperous than he met the 49 – year old State.

This his doing without media razzmatazz.

Ogun State under his watch is now investors destination of choice because of the seamless ease of doing business and other enabling factors that encourage business to berth and thrive in the state.

Recently, Abiodun received the former Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mrs. Oluwatoyin Madein, and members of the Iperu Development Association in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, and disclosed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would perform the groundbreaking rite for the establishment of the biggest cotton and polyester processing factory in the world at the Special Agro Processing Zone located at the Gateway International Airport, Iperu/Ilisan area of the State.

The factory, which is under the “Renewed Hope Cotton Resurgent Initiative,” would sit on 400 hectares of land and would also employ about 250,000 people in direct and indirect jobs daily. This is expected to commence at a time not farther than 45 days away.

Abiodun said: “In the next 30-45 days, we will be doing the groundbreaking of the Renewed Hope Cotton Resurgent Initiative that will be done by Mr. President himself. It is going to be a bigger factory, and it will be the biggest cotton and polyester processing factory in the world.

“It will employ 250,000 people per day. The promoters of this factory went around the whole state, and they decided that this is the place they want to site this factory because of the existing infrastructure like the airport, proximity to consumers, and the ability of raw materials to come in centrally.

“We are clearing the site, and this factory is going to sit on 400 hectares of land. It is like a whole new town. The requirements to support this industry can best be imagined. The economic impact on Iperu and its environs, the entire Remoland, Ijebu land, and the whole of Ogun State is beyond imagination,” he said.

Besides, the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has also indicated interest in establishing a base in the town to secure not only the airport but also to provide adequate security to Iperu and the adjoining towns.

Also, Governor Dapo Abiodun is working to enhance the tourism potential of the state. He has begun repositioning Olumo Rock in Abeokuta, the state capital, to make it Nigeria’s top tourism destination. Plans are underway to carry out a comprehensive work at this nature facility to enhance the site’s appeal and visitors traffic.

The state recently brokered a collaborative arrangement with Nike Art Gallery to attract more tourists to Olumo Rock annually when Governor Abiodun hosted the founder of the Nike Art Gallery, Chief (Mrs) Nike Davies-Okundaye, in his Oke-Mosan office, Abeokuta.

The move will ensure a more vibrant tourism sector in the State and it is expected to see a surge in the number of tourists visiting the site from 20,000 annually to over 100,000.

In light of this, the Governor directed that the Events Centre within Olumo Rock be converted into an exhibition gallery for the Nike Art Gallery.

The Nike Art Gallery, which was opened in 1983 in Osogbo, Osun State, boasts about 8,000 diverse artworks from various Nigerian artists and also provides training for hundreds of aspiring young performance artists and craftsmen.

Similarly, the Governor has taken steps to further develop a transportation system necessary for the status of Ogun State as an industrial hub to allow seamless cargo movement, boost industrial growth, further stimulate the socioeconomic activities and usher in prosperity to all.

In this perspective, Governor Abiodun months ago received a “Certificate of Compliance” on the planned Inland Dry Port located in the Papalanto, Ewekoro area of the state. This will no doubt not only complement the Agro Cargo Airport Iperu in facilitating trade and economic development, the dry port will take care of cargo and provide storage facilities, warehousing, logistics services, customs clearance, and inspection services, a development that, industry watchers said would trigger a daily robust of inlands economy, appreciation of land and real estate values along the corridor.

The project was flagged off months ago by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Alhaji Adegboyega Oyetola.

Justifying the need for the Dry Port, Abiodun said that the Tincan and Apapa seaports are already congested leading to manhour lost to clearing, demurrage and added cost to importers and manufacturers.

However, the avoidable challenges can now be averted or minimized with Dry Ports project in Ogun by leveraging the proximity between the two States – Ogun and Lagos.

In the reckoning of the Governor, Cargo meant for Ogun, Ondo and Oyo can be processed and cleared at the Papalanto Ogun Dry Port upon completion.

Besides, Governor Abiodun has also conceived the Kajola Inland Dry Port project in alignment with the Federal Government’s initiative to strengthen rail lines across the country to take heat off the Apapa and Tin Can ports, both in Lagos, and make the clearance of raw materials seamless.

He said, “We have the advantage of proximity to Lagos, Nigeria’s busiest seaports and airport. We also have the advantage of extensive gas reticulation in terms of pipelines, which allows for energy and gas to power industries.

“These two factors have made us the industrial capital, and naturally, you will find that a lot of raw materials are coming in by sea, and once processed, they are coming in through Lagos to our State.

“This initiative is supported by the strong case that if we were able to establish an Inland Port here, it would align with the federal government’s initiative of strengthening the rail line since this line connects Lagos to Ogun, Oyo, Osun, and Ondo states.

“The volume of traffic at Tincan and Apapa seaports is overwhelming, and these ports have become extremely inefficient as containers remain there for upwards of 30-60 days, accruing demurrage. By the time they are cleared and brought down to our state, a lot of demurrage and added costs have been incurred.

“In a strong business case, we say if we set up the Inland Dry Port, when the containers arrive, they don’t need to be cleared in Lagos; they will be put onto trains, and all the processes will be done here. This means that containers destined for Oyo, Osun, and Ondo states will be cleared here.”

Governor Abiodun is also improving the road network in the state to reduce hardship and travel time of residents and visitors. No fewer than 600 kilometres of inter-state, intra-state and inner-city roads have been built by Abiodun’s
administration and this is done to a degree that every section of the state or local government can easily point to one or two roads that Abiodun’s administration reconstructed in the last five years.

A current example is the significant progress being recorded on the asphalting of the Laderin–Wole Soyinka Train Station Road in Abeokuta, with completion expected within the scheduled timeframe.

The Laderin–Wole Soyinka Train Station Road forms part of a broader initiative by the administration to modernize the transportation network and enhance ease of movement around key public infrastructure and particularly improve mobility for residents of the area and boost overall visitors’connectivity within Abeokuta.

It is equally worth mentioning human face dimension to his administration as it particularly pertains to workers welfare. With his administration reckoned as worker-friendly, Abiodun has taken steps to deepen partnership with the labour movement while also remaining committed to improving working conditions and enhancing their welfare across the State.

During the recently held 2025 edition of May Day, Prince Dapo Abiodun assured the workers that his administration would soon announce its position and decision on their requests, especially on the pensions just as he commended them for the synergy that place the State firmly on the path of sustainable socio-economic growth and development

According to him, the workers cooperation has enabled his administration to prudently deploy available resources meaningfully, including creating a business-friendly environment that continues to attract and encourage both local and foreign investments.

As a demonstration of commitment to workers well-being, his administration has cleared pension backlogs and settled inherited five – year gratuity(2012 to 2017), thus, making it possible for him to pay salaries alongside pensions regularly, with no pensioner owed since assuming office in 2019.

A total of ₦179.7 billion has been disbursed for pensions and gratuities to both state and LG retirees while N1.6 billion has been disbursed to 12,508 beneficiaries as car motorcycle refurbishing loans.

On his watch, the state also provided ₦8 billion in palliatives to workers and pensioners between July 2023 and March 2024 to cushion the effect fuel price hike even with assurance that his administration remains unwavering in its commitment to fulfilling all its promises and improving the welfare of workers.

He acknowledged that the wellbeing of residents and citizens of Ogun State is tied to the productivity of the workforce, hence the resolve not to take them for granted.

Interestingly, in two weeks time, the world will focus on Ogun State for the good reason again as it hosts Gateway Games 2025! Dapo Abiodun is leading the State in preparation to host this biggest sports event in Africa, outside the All-Africa Games.

Ogun State hosted the event in 2006, one of the most memorable in the terms of its social, economic and cultural spectacle, but not so, its sports impact. What will be different this time? Ogun is ready. The four zones of the State – Abeokuta(Egba), Sagamu (Remo), Ilaro(Yewa) and Ijebu – Ode (Ijebu) – the theatres of competitions are ready and enthusiastic about the festival. Same from Ilisan host to Babcock University, the fifth location slated for the sports festival. The world can’t expect less from the 22nd edition of the Sports festival in a State that is super rich in its history, culture, education, traditions, geography, arts, institutions, and human capital.

It is no gainsaying that Prince Dapo Abiodun has raised the bar of governance in Ogun State and he is not resting on his oars to finish strong and leave it better and more prosperous. Surely posterity will be kind to him on successful completion of his tenure in 2027. The task before any successor would be how to sustain the tempo or move higher up. Lowering the bar won’t be acceptable.

•Dr Abayomi Arabambi (FBAU)
National President,
Good Governance Advocate and Support Group (GGASG), writes from Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.