22nd November, 2010
A private refinery worth more than 1.5 billion dollars to be known as Ode Aye Refinery is to be established in Ode Aye, Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Retired Major Christopher Ikutiminu, the Chairman of Ode Aye Company, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Okitipupa, recently.
He said the refinery would process 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day into petroleum products on completion.
Ikutiminu said that the establishment of the private refinery was a heed to call by government on the private sector to contribute towards the economic development of the country.
He noted that the project, which he described as grassroots-based, would be of benefit to both the state government, the host community and foreign investors from Italy.
Ikutiminu also said that he decided to embark on the project so as to give back to the community what they have given to him as a citizen of Ode Aye.
The chairman said that the refinery would be located close to the river that emptied into the ocean around Okitipupa for easy transportation of both the raw materials and the refined products.
Ikutiminu emphasised that stakeholders in the project cut across the locality as that would ensure the safety of equipment in the refinery when it comes on stream.
“We will make sure that everybody within the locality benefits from it, you know you cannot steal or vandalise what belongs to you, that is the strategy we will use to safeguard equipment in the refinery,†he said.
Ikutiminu also said that plan for the establishment of the refinery had been on in the last six years, adding that funding had been the major challenge.