Ilaje community rejects proposed Dangote industrial city, accepts Olokola FTZ

— Says we won’t be tenants on our land

By Dayo Johnson Akure

The Aheri Development Council in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State has explained its decision to accept the Olókòlá Free Trade Zone, OKFTZ, while rejecting the proposed Dangote Industrial City in Ilaje-Aheri kingdom.

Secretary of the Council, Ayeoba Ige Asemudara, made this known in a statement issued after a meeting convened by the Maporure of Aheriland, Oba Ilesanmi Raphael Ikuemonisan-Mafo, at Zion-Pepe, Ilaje.

The meeting had in attendance representatives of the Ondo State Government, ODSG, and Dangote Industries Limited on the proposed investment in OKFTZ and the alleged Dangote Industrial City within the area.

Asemudara said the Aheri kingdom welcomes Dangote’s return and associates with the industrial development agenda of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa within OKFTZ along the Atlantic coast.

However, the council expressed concern over what it described as the exclusion of host communities from the Technical Committee set up by ODSG to collate records and liaise with Dangote and other companies in OKFTZ.

“That as Government acts only through verifiable documentations, it is unacceptable that our land and forests are currently invaded by strangers on the basis of a proposed government acquisition of land with no clear location, dimension, and on the pretext of crops enumeration, data collection and environmental impact assessment of undisclosed projects,”the statement said.

Asemudara noted that while Dangote left the 10,000 hectares allocated to it in OKFTZ for Lekki, only 2,635 hectares of low-lying, swampy, reclaimed land was acquired by Lagos State for the Dangote Refinery.

He added that the 10,000 hectares of OKFTZ is far larger than other free trade zones in the Niger Delta and Lagos, citing Lekki FTZ at 3,000 hectares, Eko Atlantic 1,107 hectares, and Alaro City 1,000 hectares among others.

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