Amby Uneze in Owerri
Odu’a Investment Company Limited incorporated in Nigeria 41 years ago as a conglomerate outfit owned by the six South Western states of Nigeria has been reinvigorated to promote regional economy of the geo-political entity as well as diversifying strongly into the oil and gas sector.
The Group Managing Director /Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Adewale Raji, who disclosed this to journalists in Owerri during a three-day Nigerian Content workshop held at the Imo Trade and Investment Centre, Owerri, Imo State capital, also said that the Lagos State Government had begun processing its necessary documentations to fully involve as one of the owners of the outfit. He stated clearly that Lagos State Government never pulled out of the company as speculated.
He disclosed that the decision of the company to explore opportunities of investment in the oil and gas sector was informed by the need to grow the economy of the owner states (Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and Lagos) by appreciable margin. According to him ”If We are investment company we are looking at medium and long term.
We really should be participating in oil and gas. We in Odu’a, looking at our mandate, we have to step up our capabilities and participate in the oil and gas”.
Raji said ”We do believe that from the local point of view, there should be an area we should play a roleâ€, insisting that the investment outfit has an insurance brokerage that would make the company have an edge to invest in oil and gas sector. ”With insurance brokerage , we believe that this will be used as a major instrument to getting into oil and gas , growing economy to good investment opportunities to create wealth, and attracting returns. It is a means of deepening the economy of the South West Nigeria”, he said.
The Group Managing Director disclosed that the states that own Odu’a had no intension of sharing assets, rather consolidating the economy of the region, stressing that they had the intension of spurring other states in other regions to copy the success story without considering religious and ethnic boundaries.
What has made Odu’a thick, I think the owners have in recent times made it mandatory themselves that they must recoup resources from private sector to run the organization and as much possibly looking for credible resources from the private sector who have already been tested not political or ethnical affiliation. They should take what I can call business pedigreeâ€, he stated.
The company, he noted, is working on airport hotel to bring it to shape and take it to the next level, adding that risk assessment and mitigation were considered in doing that.
Raji, said the challenge they were having, included that of ownership point of view to progression and target of growing the economy higher.
Odu’a has substantial investment in real estate, printing and publishing, equipment leasing, food and beverages, industries, construction, agriculture, hotel and catering, financial services and oil and gas, and it is entrusted with delivering maximum returns to its stakeholders through qualitative and strategic management towards enhancing the heritage of its founding fathers.
