The South West Development Commission (SWDC) has secured a provisional licence to establish a regional passenger and freight railway network linking the six states of the South-West, advancing efforts to build an integrated transportation system for the region.
The commission’s Managing Director, Dr Charles Akinola, disclosed this during a strategic meeting with regional stakeholders at Cocoa House in Ibadan.
Akinola said the SWDC would work with Odu’a Investment Company Ltd. and the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission to develop the rail network, which is expected to facilitate the movement of passengers and freight across the region.
“We have secured provisional licence for rail for freight and passengers. We will work with Odu’a and DAWN to connect the Southwest with rail,” he said in a statement.
The rail project is part of a regional infrastructure agenda being considered by the commission. Akinola said plans were also underway to strengthen energy security and develop an integrated road transportation system.
One of the proposed road projects would link Ore in Ondo State to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, creating a connection that the commission believes could improve movement and open up more of the region to economic activity.
The SWDC is also considering a South-West infrastructure development fund to complement Federal Government financing for major projects.
Akinola said the commission was open to partnerships that could help advance the development ideals associated with the region’s founding leaders, including Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Lateef Jakande. He commended Odu’a Investment Company for repositioning its operations and delivering billions of naira in dividends to its six owner states.
The strategic meeting also provided an opportunity for the Association of Retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries in the South-West to present its proposed economic development plan for the region.
The association’s Regional President, Demola Badejo, said the publication was presented to Odu’a Investment Company and SWDC as the association’s contribution to the development conversation. He noted that DAWN Commission had collaborated in producing the document.
Badejo described Odu’a as a symbol of the collective economic interests and aspirations of the six South-West states, while pointing to ongoing efforts to reposition the company, unlock the value of its assets and maximise their benefits to the people.
He also acknowledged DAWN Commission’s role in promoting cooperation and coordinated development among the six states, while describing the emergence of SWDC as “a new and important platform” for regional intervention and infrastructure development.
According to Dr Oluseye Oyeleye, Director-General of DAWN Commission, the current push must be measured against the ambition demonstrated by earlier generations of South-West leaders.
He cited Cocoa House, Liberty Stadium, Odu’a Investment Company and the first television station in Africa as examples of what he called the “audacity of thinking” of the region’s forebears.
He urged a shift from divisive politics to the “politics of development”, identifying Odu’a Investment Company, SWDC and DAWN Commission as institutions with important roles to play in shaping the region’s future.
Oyeleye further disclosed that DAWN Commission had collaborated with Egbe Omo Odu’a in the diaspora to establish funds providing start-up capital for businesses across the region, with applications being invited from interested beneficiaries.
The meeting was attended by regional development stakeholders, including Yinusa Abdulraman, Group Managing Director of Odu’a Investment Company; Badejo; Oyeleye and other representatives.
With the provisional rail licence secured, the South-West now has a formal regulatory foothold for pursuing a regional rail system that could reshape the movement of people and goods across its six states, provided the next stages of financing, partnership and implementation match the ambition behind the plan.
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