The Senator representing Ogun East Senatorial District, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, has said his administration laid the foundation for the recent declaration of Ogun State as an oil-producing state
The former governor of the state, in a statement by his media office in Abuja yesterday, said the recognition of Ogun State oil production status by NNPCL was heart-warming.
He has therefore congratulated Governor Dapo Abiodun, and all Ogun State citizens over the declaration of the state as a frontier state for oil exploration by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).
He said the development signposted the fulfilment of the vision kick-started by the establishment of the Gateway Oil and Gas Development Limited in 2003 by his administration as governor, with immense support from former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
In pushing for the recognition of Ogun State as an oil-producing state, Daniel explained that his administration undertook a three-dimensional seismic study of oil and other mineral deposits in the state.
The statement read, “The seismic survey covered a vast stretch of the water body in Ode Omi in Ogun Waterside Local Government, all through the Laogo Island, Imobi, Itasin riverine areas in the Ijebu East Local Government and Tongeji Island in Ipokia Local Government Area.
“The study then sparked a $50m investment pledge by PGS Exploration Nigeria Limited in April 2004.
“, a large deposit of Phosphate was also discovered around Olusosun in the Ifo Local Government area which necessitated the siting of the Gateway Fertilizer Company at Olusosun.
“The Ogun State Agro-Cargo Airport in Iperu/Ilishan and the Kajola FTZ in Ifo were conceived to provide Transport logistics hubs to support all these initiatives.
“The arguments of the Ogun State Government then was that it was the only littoral state on the Benin Trough (that is now referred to as Dahomey Basin) that was yet to be recognized as an Oil Producing State.
“Several strategies were deployed to draw the attention of the Federal Government to Ogun State to establish it as an Oil Producing State.
“Part of the strategies included the hosting of then-NNPC Group Managing Director, Engr. Funsho Kupolokun and other top officials of the oil corporation at a colourful event held at the Valley View Auditorium of the Government House, Oke Igbein, Abeokuta, leveraging the event to get Ogun listed as an oil-producing state.
“In 2007, a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a multibillion-dollar Olokola Liquefied Natural Gas (OK LNG) project between Ogun and Ondo State governments (joint owners of the Olokola Free Trade Zone) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, as it then was; Chevron, Shell and British Gas (who were the promoters of the project), was signed.
“The Olokola Free Trade Zone was also billed to host petro-allied establishments such as the Dangote Refinery (now relocated to Lagos).
“Those in attendance at the signing of the MoU include the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Engr. Funso Kupolokun who also served as the Chairman of the Project’s Steering Committee; the Managing Director of the Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA), Mr. Shina Agboluaje, and a host of others.”
The statement added that as governor of Ogun State then, Daniel, at the event, described the state as “a veritable factory of skilled manpower that would be readily available for the different players in the FTZ.
“With 10 higher institutions, our state is regularly turning out a considerable number of available manpower that are waiting to be trained further and engaged for productive activities.”
