Ondo To Become Export Hub Soon – Commissioner

The Ondo State Government says it has put machinery in place to make the state an export hub for different commodities.
Chief Timehin Adelegbe, the state Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives, said this last week when officials of the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) paid him a courtesy visit in Akure.
Adelegbe said that Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu, had made some efforts like visiting and discussing with President Muhammadu Buhari on a deep seaport in Ilaje area.
“Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu is very aggressive about the seaport and he has presented the proposal to the President.
“Our governor recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to link Ilaje to Lagos by road.
“When this is completed, it will take just about 30 minutes from here to Lagos,’’ he said.
According to the commissioner, the state is embedded in natural resources such as bitumen, kaolin and limestone.
He said that the state governor and the ministry were making efforts to attract investors to the state and create conducive environment for sustenance of their investment.
“Ondo State is blessed with natural resources in commercial quantiles. So, this should be the hub of exportation and we are taking it seriously because investors are coming.
“Government is putting necessary mechanism to drive this.
“When this is done, shippers’ council will have a lot to do here,’’ Adelegbe said.
The commissioner assured the council that there would be robust and intimate collaboration between them.
Earlier, the Southwest Zonal Coordinator of Shippers Council; Mr Olurotimi Anifowose, said the ministry was important to the accomplishment of the council’s statutory goals and responsibilities.
Anifowose said that the council’s mandate was to work with every stakeholder to ensure that international trade was facilitated and done in a seamless manner in Nigeria.