By Steve Otaloro
The recent approval by Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) of three major privately financed infrastructure projects valued at approximately $4.29 billion marks a defining moment in the nation’s economic re-engineering drive. The approved projects the Bakassi Deep Seaport in Cross River State, the Ondo Deep Seaport, and the 460-megawatt Katsina-Ala Hydropower Plant are to be executed under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements and regulated by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).
While all three projects are significant, the approval of the Ondo Deep Seaport stands out as both historic and symbolic, particularly given the long and arduous journey the project has travelled before finally receiving the presidential stamp of approval.
For years, the Ondo Deep Seaport project suffered delays arising from documentation irregularities and procedural bottlenecks, which threatened to consign it to the graveyard of abandoned national aspirations. Yet, in the face of bureaucratic resistance, Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa remained steadfast, methodical, and unyielding.
His administration painstakingly addressed the lapses, cleaned up the documentation, re-engaged federal institutions, and ensured the project was repositioned in full compliance with regulatory and commercial requirements. That the project has now secured FEC approval is a testament to quiet diligence, strategic engagement, and uncommon persistence.
The Ondo Deep Seaport was originally conceptualised and pursued with exceptional vigour by the late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, whose vision was to unlock Ondo State’s vast maritime and industrial potential. Governor Aiyedatiwa, determined to honour his late principal’s legacy, has not only sustained that vision but has elevated it with renewed urgency and clarity of purpose.
In doing so, he has demonstrated a deep understanding of leadership continuity that governance is a relay, not a solo race. As Scripture reminds us: One generation shall commend Your works to another; they shall tell of Your mighty acts (Psalm 145:4).
Ondo State holds the unenviable distinction of having the longest coastline in Nigeria without a functional seaport. This historical imbalance has deprived the state of enormous economic opportunities despite its strategic maritime endowment.
A functional deep seaport will:
– Catalyse massive revenue generation for the state;
– Create thousands of direct and indirect jobs;
– Stimulate industrial clusters and logistics services;
– Accelerate development of the southern senatorial district, long constrained by water-logged terrain and infrastructural neglect;
– Reduce pressure on the congested Lagos ports.
The southern corridor of Ondo State rich in oil, gas, bitumen, fisheries, and maritime resources has for decades remained largely untapped. The seaport will change this narrative decisively.
Ondo State’s geographical positioning is one of its greatest, yet underutilised, strengths. Situated between Western Nigeria and the South-South, with relative proximity to the Eastern corridor and the Northern hinterland, the Ondo Deep Seaport is strategically placed to become a preferred maritime gateway.
For importers and exporters weary of the gridlock and inefficiencies associated with Lagos ports, Ondo offers a compelling alternative. Cargo destined for the North, East, and parts of the West can transit more efficiently through Ondo, saving time and cost. In this regard, the seaport is not merely a state asset but a national logistics solution.
AIYEDATIWA: THE WORKAHOLIC GOVERNOR WITH AN INDUSTRIAL BLUEPRINT
Governor Aiyedatiwa has consistently projected a clear ambition: to transition Ondo State from a predominantly agrarian and civil-service-driven economy into an industrial and manufacturing hub. The seaport is central to this blueprint.
Beyond the port, his administration is actively advancing:
– Petrochemical and industrial partnerships;
– Free Trade Zone development;
– Modular refineries and energy-related investments;
– Strategic road infrastructure across the southern senatorial district to support industrial logistics before and after project completion.
These are not isolated interventions but interconnected components of a broader industrial ecosystem. As the proverb says, “The one who wants to fetch water prepares the path to the river.”
A LEADER WHO LISTENS, A GOVERNMENT THAT DELIVERS
Governor Aiyedatiwa’s success with the Ondo Deep Seaport underscores another defining trait: his willingness to listen to experts. Against the odds, and despite voices that once declared the project impossible, he remained resolute, engaging technocrats, investors, and federal stakeholders until the impossible yielded to persistence.
His approach aligns with the biblical admonition: “Plans succeed with good counsel (Proverbs 20:18).
The approval of the Ondo Deep Seaport is a call for celebration for the people of Ondo State, who stand to be the primary beneficiaries of the economic transformation it will unleash. In the coming years, the southern senatorial district will witness unprecedented commercial activity, infrastructure expansion, and human capital development.
As Ondo State approaches its 50th anniversary in February 2026, coinciding with Governor Aiyedatiwa’s first year in office as an elected governor, history appears to have placed him at a pivotal crossroads. It is a moment for reflection on the journey from 1976 to 2026, and a launching pad for a bold new 50-year development trajectory.
Posterity will remember leaders who dared to think big. One thing is already certain: Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa has started well. He is laying foundations that will outlive his tenure, and in the annals of Ondo State history, his name will be recorded as a governor who triggered a new growth blueprint and repositioned the state for relevance in Nigeria’s industrial and maritime future.
As the Scriptures say, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone”* (Psalm 118:22). The Ondo Deep Seaport once stalled, now approved has become that cornerstone.
