The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Rt. Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo, has commended Ondo State Governor, Dr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, for ensuring adequate security and creating an enabling environment that continues to attract investors to the state.
The Minister gave the commendation during a courtesy stopover at the Government House, Alagbaka, Akure, after inspecting the Supertec Methanol and Harmonium Plant in Ore, Odigbo Local Government Area of the state, on Sunday.
"Because of the importance of the project in your domain, we decided to come on inspection tour. Why it interests me is that there is the tech advantage of the natural gas to put on the facility, to produce methanol, fertilizer and many other things that our country needs at this point in time", he said.
Ekpo described the ongoing methanol and fertilizer production project in Ore as a massive industrial investment with immense potential for national economic growth. He emphasized that the initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s directive to harness Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources to drive economic transformation and industrial development.
"NNPC would be taking advantage to drive the upstream operation in Nigeria which is adding value. So, I congratulate you for providing the enabling environment for that project to thrive, for foreigners to come and invest in the State. This is what other states of the federation should imbibe so that it will drive the economy of the nation in the direction it should", he added.
He congratulated Governor Aiyedatiwa for hosting the first methanol production facility in the country, noting that the NNPC is expected to leverage such investments to enhance upstream operations and promote value addition in the gas sector.
While promising to brief President Tinubu about the project ahead of its commissioning, the Minister pledged continued collaboration with the Ondo State Government in line with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, especially in the gas sector.
In his response, Governor Aiyedatiwa appreciated the Minister’s visit and lauded the Ondo State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA) for removing bureaucratic bottlenecks that often discourage investors.
The Governor highlighted the growing number of industrial projects facilitated through ONDIPA, including a 500,000-barrel-per-day modular refinery and a petrochemical plant for fertilizer production in Ilaje Local Government Area.
The Governor identified the Southern Senatorial District as the state’s economic hub, rich in oil, gas, and mineral resources, with ongoing projects such as the proposed Deep Seaport and the Ondo-Linyil Industrial Hub, where cassava is being processed into ethanol.
"We have to do that because that is the only way we can grow the economy of the State and provide jobs for our people. There is a limit to employment opportunities that the government can provide for the teeming youth population but we believe that creating the enabling environment that is peaceful and investment-friendly will bring private investors because of the peculiar resources that we also have", the Governor said.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to sustaining economic diversification, stressing that private investments remain vital to complementing government efforts in providing employment opportunities.
The Governor further disclosed that his administration is working to enhance the state’s infrastructure, including the dualization of the Ore–Okitipupa–Igbokoda road corridor, while the Federal Government undertakes the dualization of the Akure–Ore highway.
"We are inviting investors to come, the land is there, we have a lot of minerals here including gold, limestone and many more and we are beginning to market them to the world", he added.
Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan,
Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Ondo State.
November 10, 2025.
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