By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

The South West Development Commission (SWDC) has secured a provisional licence to establish an integrated regional passenger and freight rail network connecting the six states in the South-West.

The Managing Director of SWDC, Dr. Charles Akinola, disclosed this, during a strategic meeting with members of the Association of Retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries in the South-West at the iconic 25-storey Cocoa House in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Akinola said the commission would collaborate with Ooduá Investment Company Limited and the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission to develop an interconnected rail system capable of facilitating the movement of people and goods across the region.

He said: “We have secured a provisional licence for rail for freight and passengers. We will work with Ooduá and DAWN to connect the South-West with rail.

“We are also planning energy security for the region. We are looking at constructing a road that will link Ore in Ondo State to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway for integrated transportation to open up the region.

“We are thinking of a South-West Infrastructure Development Fund to complement the Federal Government’s funding.”

According to him, the SWDC is open to strategic partnerships aimed at accelerating regional development and reviving the development vision associated with the administrations of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Lateef Jakande.

“We are open to partnership to recreate what Awolowo, Jakande and others did as part of the vision for the future,” Akinola said.

He commended the management of Ooduá Investment Company for repositioning the conglomerate and delivering billions of naira in dividends to its owner states.

Akinola also described the Association of Retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries in the South-West as an important stakeholder in the development of the region.

The meeting was attended by the Regional President of the association, Mr. Demola Badejo; Group Managing Director of Ooduá Investment Company, Mr. Yinusa Abdulraman; and Director-General of the DAWN Commission, Dr. Oluseye Oyeleye, among other stakeholders.

Speaking on the purpose of the engagement, Badejo said the association was seeking stronger collaboration with Ooduá Investment Company, SWDC and DAWN Commission on the economic and infrastructural development of the region.

He said the association had produced a publication containing its proposed plan for the economic development of the South-West and intended to present copies to the three institutions as its contribution to the regional development conversation.

Badejo said: “We intend to use this visit to present copies of our association’s publication on the proposed plan for the economic development of the South-West to Ooduá Investments Company and the South West Development Commission as our modest contribution to the continuing conversation on the development of our region.

“We are particularly pleased that DAWN Commission partnered with us in the production of the publication. We recognise the strategic importance of the three institutions we are visiting today.”

He described Ooduá Investment Company as “an important symbol of the collective economic interest and aspirations of the South-West States”, commending efforts to reposition the organisation, unlock the value of its assets and investments, and maximise their benefits for the people of the region.

On DAWN Commission, Badejo said the institution had played a significant role in promoting regional integration, collaboration and coordinated development among the six South-West states.

He added that the SWDC had provided “a new and important platform for coordinated intervention, infrastructural development and other developmental initiatives across the region.”

Also speaking, Oyeleye lauded the vision and boldness of the region’s forebears, citing the construction of Cocoa House, Liberty Stadium, Ooduá Investment Company and the establishment of the first television station in Africa as examples of ambitious development projects.

He said the achievements demonstrated that the region’s past leaders were driven by a long-term vision rather than immediate political considerations.

“What our forebears did is audacity of thinking. They were not thinking of the next election but the next generation and how to take the region to another level,” Oyeleye said.

He described O’duá Investment Company, SWDC and DAWN Commission as critical institutions for the future development of the South-West.

“The three organisations Ooduá, SWDC and DAWN Commission, are the future of the South-West,” he said, advocating a shift towards a politics of development rather than divisive political competition.

Oyeleye also disclosed that DAWN Commission had collaborated with Egbe Omo Ooduá in the diaspora to establish a fund to provide start-up capital for businesses across the region.

He said applications were being invited from interested beneficiaries as part of efforts to stimulate entrepreneurship and economic development in the South-West.