The Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has passed a vote of confidence on the board and management of Odu’a Investment Company Limited on its record of accomplishment in recent years.
The governor who stated this, when he received the board and management of the Odu’a Group led by the Group Chairman, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru in his office, expressed delight in the practical effort and uncommon commitment invested by the company in re-engineering economic growth in the south-west states.
He commended the new board for their unmatched sense of creativity, direction, and sincerity of purpose in repositioning the conglomerate to reflect the true vision and worth of the people of the southwest states.
“I want to commend your sense of creativity, direction, sincerity of purpose, and commitment to your mandates and we are very happy with the results we have seen.
“You have been saddled with the responsibility to be a developmental vehicle to attain an accelerated regional economic growth in the south-west states by the six states’ governors and your organization has been walking the talk,” the governor said.
He noted that all the owner-states’ governors adopted a non-interference approach in the running of the conglomerate and this has paid off as the board made up of professionals and people of impeccable character with private sector experience, coupled with qualified management staff has been running the affairs of the company and doing exceedingly well.
“We as south-west governors have decided that no longer would we want an Odu’a where members that represent the various states are just politicians, that we would ensure we have directors that are technocrats, fit for purpose and also ensure that the management itself is professionally recruited so as to complement the board.
These decisions are sacrosanct and paid off as Odu’a is now a complete departure from what it used to be in the past.”
Earlier in his remarks, Otunba Ashiru commended the Governors of member states of Odu’a Investment Company Limited for appointing competent and capable hands to the various board of the conglomerate saying that the issue of diversification is a key factor to the growth and sustainability of an organization.
The Group Chairman disclosed that the company has been given a license for the Marginal Oil Field and the company is on the verge of becoming an oil-producing organization.
“Hopefully, we should be able to move into field by the first or second quarter of next year, and by this, Odu’a will be one of the oil-producing organisations in Nigeria,” He said.
On the Hospitality business, Otunba Ashiru noted that the company currently has a joint venture (JV) partner and work ongoing in remodeling, renovating and upgrading the Premier Hotel structure from an 87-room hotel to a 150-room state-of-the-art five-star hotel.
The Group Chairman who said that the company is looking at having an industrial park along the interchange added that a Chinese Company is on the verge of investing in the power sector of the Southwest with an interest in 1000 megawatts per state.
The Group Managing Director/ CEO, Mr. Adewale Raji while appreciating the southwest states’ governors for their all-around support in the smooth running of the organization, noting that the future of the company is bright.
He said that the company over the last few years has attracted lots of talent and become a brand and a business entity that everyone admires.