From Deep Sea Port to Jobs, Enterprise and Prosperity
A Development Agenda :
Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi)
BUILDING ON VISION, CONTINUITY AND PROGRESS
The transformation of Ijebu Waterside did not begin today, and we will not pretend that it did.
Progress is strongest when government recognises good foundations, builds upon them and carries development forward.
We therefore acknowledge the contributions of successive administrations and leaders whose initiatives have helped bring Ogun State to this important moment.
Credit must be given to Otunba Gbenga Daniel, OGD, whose administration recognised the strategic importance of the Ogun coastline and pursued the Olokola Free Trade Zone and proposed Deep Sea Port as part of a broader industrial and maritime development vision.
That vision placed the economic potential of the Ogun coastline firmly on the development agenda.
We also acknowledge Governor Dapo Abiodun and the present Ogun State Government for moving the maritime development agenda into a new phase through the proposed Gateway Deep Seaport and Blue Marine Special Economic Zone.
The agreements signed with DP World in September 2026 represent another significant step towards attracting major maritime and industrial investment into Ogun State.
We equally acknowledge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Federal Government for the national infrastructure and policy support required to unlock the economic potential of this corridor.
The Lagos Calabar Coastal Highway, including its Ogun section, provides an important opportunity to connect the proposed Deep Sea Port and Special Economic Zone with major markets and the wider Nigerian economy.
This is the principle upon which our agenda will stand:
Government is a continuum.
We will not abandon viable projects simply because somebody else started them.
We will preserve what works.
We will improve what needs improvement.
We will complete what deserves completion.
And we will ensure that public investment ultimately delivers measurable benefits to the people.
OGD helped establish an early maritime and industrial vision.
Governor Dapo Abiodun has advanced the current maritime investment programme.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Federal Government is providing strategic national support and connectivity.
Our responsibility is to take the next step and ensure that these investments translate into jobs, businesses, infrastructure and prosperity for the people of Ijebu Waterside.
That is our commitment.
FROM PROJECT TO PROSPERITY
The Deep Sea Port must not become an isolated project surrounded by communities that remain poor.
The Special Economic Zone must not become an island of prosperity disconnected from the people whose land and coastline host it.
And the Coastal Highway must not simply pass through Ijebu Waterside.
These investments must open Ijebu Waterside to opportunity.
For us, development will become meaningful when the young person in Iwopin can acquire a skill and find employment.
When the fisherman has access to modern equipment, cold storage, processing facilities and larger markets.
When the farmer can move beyond selling raw produce and begin supplying processors, industries and export markets.
When local entrepreneurs can win contracts and provide goods and services to companies operating within the maritime corridor.
When communities can point to better roads, electricity, water, schools and healthcare as evidence that development has reached them.
Our economic pathway is clear:
PORT → INDUSTRY → ENTERPRISE → JOBS → REVENUE → COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT → PROSPERITY
The Deep Sea Port will provide the anchor.
Our job will be to build the economy around it.
OUR JOBS COMMITMENT
Jobs will be at the centre of our Ijebu Waterside development programme.
We will establish an Ijebu Waterside Skills, Employment and Enterprise Programme to prepare our people for opportunities emerging from the port, Special Economic Zone, coastal highway and associated industries.
We will work with technical institutions, industries and training organisations to provide practical training in construction, welding, fabrication, electrical installation, mechanical engineering, logistics, ICT, marine services, heavy equipment operations, health and safety and other relevant skills.
Training must be connected to economic opportunity.
We do not want certificates without prospects.
We want skills that lead to jobs, apprenticeships and businesses.
OUR LOCAL BUSINESS COMMITMENT
The companies that come to Ijebu Waterside will need suppliers.
They will need transportation.
They will need food.
They will need accommodation.
They will need construction services.
They will need maintenance, security, cleaning, fabrication, logistics and professional services.
Our people must be prepared to compete for these opportunities.
We will establish an Ijebu Waterside SME and Local Supplier Development Programme to help local businesses improve standards, obtain relevant certifications, access finance and become procurement ready.
Our ambition is not merely to attract large companies.
It is to grow local companies alongside them.
OUR FISHERIES AND BLUE ECONOMY COMMITMENT
Fishing has sustained generations of families in Ijebu Waterside.
The arrival of industrial development must strengthen this economy, not push it aside.
We will develop a programme for modern fish landing facilities, cold storage, ice production, aquaculture, preservation, processing and packaging.
Fishing cooperatives will be supported with better access to training, finance, equipment and markets.
We want the fisherman of today to have the opportunity to become the commercial fish producer, processor and exporter of tomorrow.
OUR AGRICULTURAL COMMITMENT
We will connect agriculture to the emerging maritime economy.
Priority agricultural production areas will be linked to aggregation, storage and processing facilities.
Our farmers must have greater access to industries, major domestic markets and, where commercially viable, export opportunities.
Our approach will be straightforward:
Grow it.
Process it.
Package it.
Market it.
Export it.
The more value we create locally, the more jobs and income we retain locally.
THE IWOPIN AND IJEBU WATERSIDE ECONOMIC CORRIDOR
Development cannot stop at the gates of the port.
We will develop a framework for an Iwopin and Ijebu Waterside Economic Corridor connecting communities with the maritime economy, agriculture, fisheries, industrial locations and commercial centres.
Subject to proper planning and feasibility assessment, this corridor will provide locations for industrial clusters, processing facilities, logistics activities, SME parks, storage facilities and other commercial developments.
The objective is to spread opportunity across Ijebu Waterside.
No community should be condemned to watching prosperity pass by.
UNLOCKING THE BITUMEN OPPORTUNITY
The bitumen potential of Ijebu Waterside must become part of the area’s long term economic conversation.
Within the first year, we will initiate the appropriate technical, commercial and environmental assessment necessary to determine the most responsible and economically viable pathway for development.
Where commercial viability is established, our policy will emphasise local value addition.
We will pursue opportunities for processing, technical services, logistics, associated industries and employment.
Our natural resources must do more than leave our communities.
They must create value within our communities.
CONNECTING COMMUNITIES TO OPPORTUNITY
Roads are economic infrastructure.
A farmer needs a road to reach the market.
A fisherman needs a road to move his catch.
A worker needs a road to reach employment.
An investor needs a road to reach a business location.
We will identify priority roads connecting communities, farms, fishing settlements, markets and industrial locations with the emerging maritime corridor.
Following engineering assessment and within available resources, priority rehabilitation and construction will commence.
Our principle will be firm:
Development must enter our communities, not merely pass beside them.
POWER, WATER AND DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY
We will integrate electricity, potable water and digital connectivity into the Waterside development programme.
Industrial growth and community development must move together.
Communities hosting major economic investments should experience improvements in the infrastructure that affects everyday life.
The evidence of development must therefore be visible not only at the port but also in homes, schools, markets and businesses.
EDUCATION AND HEALTHCARE
Economic transformation must improve human development.
We will strengthen technical and vocational education and connect skills development to the industries emerging within the corridor.
We will also assess healthcare requirements arising from population and industrial growth and incorporate them into the wider development programme.
Our young people should be able to learn skills close to home and compete for opportunities close to home.
Train our people. Employ our people. Grow our communities.
THE FIRST YEAR ACTION PROGRAMME
Our first year will be a year of preparation, mobilisation and visible action.
1. IJEBU WATERSIDE DEVELOPMENT AUDIT
We will undertake a comprehensive economic and infrastructure audit covering roads, electricity, water, healthcare, education, fisheries, agriculture, existing businesses, skills and potential investment locations.
We must know precisely where we are before determining where public resources should go first.
2. SKILLS AND EMPLOYMENT REGISTER
We will establish an Ijebu Waterside Skills and Employment Register.
Young people seeking training, apprenticeships and employment will be identified and categorised according to their skills, qualifications and training requirements.
3. COMMENCE VOCATIONAL AND TECHNICAL TRAINING
Training will commence in priority areas connected to the emerging economy.
The objective will be to prepare our people before major employment opportunities mature.
4. LAUNCH THE SME AND LOCAL SUPPLIER PROGRAMME
Local businesses will begin receiving support to improve capacity, standards, certification and procurement readiness.
We want Waterside businesses ready to participate when major contracts and supply opportunities emerge.
5. BEGIN THE FISHERIES MODERNISATION PROGRAMME
Priority fishing communities will be identified and the first phase of interventions in cold storage, ice production, landing facilities, aquaculture and fish processing will commence, subject to technical design and funding.
6. MAP AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING OPPORTUNITIES
Major production areas will be identified and linked to plans for aggregation, storage, processing and market access.
7. IDENTIFY PRIORITY COMMUNITY ROADS
Strategic feeder roads connecting communities to farms, markets, fishing settlements and the maritime corridor will be identified and prioritised.
Following engineering assessment and budgeting, implementation will commence on selected priority routes.
8. COMMENCE PLANNING FOR THE IWOPIN ECONOMIC CORRIDOR
Suitable areas for industrial clusters, SME activities, logistics, processing and commercial development will be identified.
9. BEGIN BITUMEN DEVELOPMENT ASSESSMENT
Technical, commercial and environmental work will commence to establish the appropriate development pathway for the area’s bitumen resources.
10. CREATE THE IJEBU WATERSIDE DEVELOPMENT DELIVERY FRAMEWORK
A dedicated coordination and monitoring framework will track the implementation of the programme and publish measurable progress.
The people deserve to know what has been promised, what has commenced and what has been delivered.
OUR FIRST YEAR TEST
At the end of the first year, we will not ask the people to judge us by speeches.
We will ask them to examine the evidence.
Are young people receiving relevant training?
Are local businesses becoming ready for new opportunities?
Have priority road projects commenced?
Are fishing communities beginning to receive practical interventions?
Are agricultural processing opportunities moving forward?
Has the economic corridor moved from an idea into a structured development programme?
Has the bitumen development assessment commenced?
And can communities see a clearer connection between the Deep Sea Port and their own economic future?
That is how progress should be measured.
CONTINUITY WITH PURPOSE
Ijebu Waterside’s transformation should never be reduced to a contest over who receives the credit.
Development belongs ultimately to the people.
The early vision must be acknowledged.
The progress already achieved must be protected.
And the next stage must deliver greater benefits to the communities.
OGD helped lay an early foundation.
Governor Dapo Abiodun has advanced the current maritime investment agenda.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Federal Government is providing national support and strategic connectivity.
The proposed Yayi agenda is to deepen the economic impact by connecting these investments more directly to jobs, enterprise and community development.
That is continuity with purpose.
From the port to the people.
From investment to employment.
From resources to enterprise.
From infrastructure to opportunity.
From opportunity to prosperity.
OUR COMMITMENT TO IJEBU WATERSIDE
The Deep Sea Port can provide the gateway.
The Special Economic Zone can provide the industrial platform.
The Coastal Highway can provide connectivity.
But the ultimate purpose of development must be the people.
We envision an Ijebu Waterside where young people can build careers close to home, fishermen can build modern enterprises, farmers can supply processors and larger markets, entrepreneurs can grow alongside major investors and communities can experience better infrastructure and public services.
We will build on the foundation already laid.
We will connect investment to opportunity.
We will connect opportunity to our people.
And we will work to ensure that Ijebu Waterside does not simply host Ogun State’s emerging maritime economy.
*IJEBU WATERSIDE MUST PARTICIPATE IN ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND SHARE IN ITS PROSPERITY.
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ITESIWAJU OGUN
