ASUE IGHODALO AND INVESTMENTS’ DRIVE IN EDO STATE BY INWALOMHE DONALD

I want to use this article to educate Nigerians on Asue IGHODALO’S investments drive in Edo State. He has attracted billions of naira investments into Edo State in the last 7years and employment was created and economic growth was achieved. In the next few months, I will write more on Asue Ighodalo’s efforts in developing Edo State.

As chairman of Alaghodaro Summit, Asue Ighodaro has attracted investments across different sectors of the state’s economy, including agriculture, food processing, manufacturing, energy and petrochemicals, among others. One of such is The Edo State Oil Palm programme and the Edo Refinery project. Recommendations from previous Alaghodaro Summits have also been used to upscale the reforms in the health and education sectors. As chairman of Alaghodaro Summit, Asue Ighodalo has attracted Saro Farm and Dufil Oil into palm oil industry to Evboesi and Urhonigbe communities in Orhionmwon local government. Asue Ighodalo attracted Fayuz company to Igueobe palm oil and Irue palm oil both communities are in Uhunmwode local government. As a board member of Okomu Oil, Extension 2 of Okomu Oil and Dufil Oil were opened in Odigin palm oil industry, Ovia North East local government.

Through Alaghodaro Summit, Okomu Oil and Rubber Research were made board members of Edo College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi, Ovia South West. As a board member of Okomu Oil, the membership of the school board was reformed.

The ESOPP(Edo State Oil Palm Programme) is one of the outcomes of the annual Alaghodaro Summit, organised by the private sector in the state to mark the anniversary of Governor Godwin Obaseki’s-led administration.Agro-allied Resources and Processing Nigeria Limited (Dufil), AgriPalm Ltd, a subsidiary of Flour Mills Nigeria Plc, Saro Oil Palm, Bragav Nigeria Limited, Saturn Farms among others. These investors are currently at different stages of development at their respective lands. Ovia North East provided 25,329 hectares; Ovia South West had 36, 759 hectares; while Orhionmwon and Uhunmwode provided 51,000 and 23, 000 hectares of land respectively for the expansion of palm oil production in Edo State

On the back of far-reaching reforms by the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration, the Edo State Government is reviving the Urhonigbe oil palm belt with N91.3bn provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and private investors, for the cultivation of oil palm on 51.8 hectares in Urhonigbe, Orhionmwon Local Government Area of the state under the first phase of the Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP).

On the back of reforms by the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, investments in the state’s oil palm sector has risen to $660 million, with new projects proposed by Canada-based Sunora Foods worth over $100 million. This is coming on the back of the $560m investment in the Edo State Oil Palm Programme (ESOPP) by leading Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) companies and other private investors in the programme. Through ESOPP, Edo is driving the development of the most expansive oil palm project in Africa, with over 60,000 hectares being cultivated as farm estates.

The chairman of the Board of Trustees, Alaghodaro Economic Summit Ltd/Gte, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, has said that the economy of Edo State grew by 140 per cent in seven years from $10.6bn to $25.8bn. Ighodalo in his address at the summit, disclosed that the investments attracted through the Alaghodaro Summit alone in the past seven years stood at $4bn, adding that the State can drag Nigeria out of its untapped potential, re-directing the nation to a point of development.

120,000 hectares of land has been acquired for the programme in Orhionmwon, Uhunmwonde, Ovia North East and Ovia South West Local Government Areas of the state, noting that farmers will be paired with investors in a ratio of 30 percent small and medium scale farmers to 70 percent oil palm investors.It will be a cluster type of farming. Investors will get between 5,000 to 10,000 hectares each. The investors will get 70 percent of the land and allocate 30 percent to small and Medium scale farmers. The investors must include Corporate Social Responsibility for the host community in their production plan before they will participate in the programme.

CURRENTLY, Nigeria occupies the fifth position in the league of palm oil-producing countries, with 1.5 per cent or 1.03 million metric tonnes of the world’s total output, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Edo State is already home to two of the biggest oil palm companies in Nigeria – Okomu plc and Presco plc, but Governor Godwin Obaseki’s push for more investment led to the injection of $531.2m by investors to develop greenfield oil palm projects across various locations in the state. These projects include developments by Agro-allied Resources and Processing Nigeria Limited (ARPN), with a 12,000ha plantation; Saro Oil Palm with over 10,000ha integrated farm and Fayus, with 5,000 ha farm, among others. Governor Obaseki of Edo State is set to return Nigeria to world’s leading producer of palm oil. Edo palm oil programme which engages more than 8 palm oil companies have invested in palm oil production in Edo. Governor Obaseki has started the project of expanding Edo State palm oil development to boost Nigeria’s palm oil production in the global 73.23 million metric tonnes.

He is supporting major palm trees plantation owners in Edo State which have large industrial estates to expand Nigeria’s palm oil production. They are Okomu Oil Palm Plc, Precso , Agri-Palm (FMN) and others are expanding.  Major Oil Palm Holdings in Edo are Okomu Oil Palm Plc , Publicly quoted, Presco, Publicly quoted, SIAT Edo Agri-Palm (FMN), Flour Mills Nigeria,  A&Hatman  , Aden River – Private, Fayus Oil Palm Plantation and Saturn – Private. Ovia North East provided 25,329 hectares; Ovia South West had 36, 759 hectares; while Orhionmwon and Uhunmwode provided 51,000 and 23, 000 hectares of land respectively for the expansion of palm oil production in Edo State. Okomu Oil and Presco are expanding their plantations in Edo State. Edo palm oil has a direct impact on the environment. It has a direct impact on the food we eat, how much of it we consume, the quantity and the quality, as well as the Gross Domestic Product of Nigeria. Edo State is the leading palm oil producer in Nigeria and it is contributing greater percentage to Nigeria’s GDP. Between January and March 2021, agriculture contributed 22.35 per cent of the total GDP.