The Association for Good Governance Advocacy (AGGA), Ondo State chapter, has called on the state government to disclose the identity of the company with which it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the proposed Ondo Deep Seaport project.
In a statement by its State Coordinator, Mrs. Folakemi Benson on Thursday, the group expressed concern over what it described as a “shroud of secrecy” surrounding the investment agreements signed during the state’s maiden Investment Summit held last Monday at the International Centre for Culture and Events (DOME), Akure.
The summit, organised by the administration of Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa as part of activities marking his one-year anniversary in office, featured the signing of two MoUs. One was for the Ondo Deep Seaport project with an unnamed company, while the other was with a firm identified as “Resident Fertiliser” for a proposed $4 billion petrochemical fertiliser plant.
AGGA noted that although the government made public the name of Resident Fertiliser in respect of the fertiliser project, it failed to disclose the identity of the company partnering with the state on the deep seaport development.
According to the group, the only information available to the public on the seaport deal is that Ondo State would hold a 12.5 per cent equity stake, while the undisclosed company would control 87.5 per cent.
The civil society organisation further stated that it conducted a background check on Resident Fertiliser and made several observations. It said the company’s website, https://residentfertilizerplc.com, appeared to have been created recently in 2026. It also observed that the only major project displayed on the website was the proposed Ondo State fertiliser plant, with no evidence of other visible operations.
In addition, AGGA said the only photographs featured on the website were those of Governor Aiyedatiwa receiving the Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, who led the company’s delegation to Akure on July 11, 2025.
The group added that Resident Fertiliser was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) on May 5, 2025, making it less than one year old.
“These findings raise a fundamental question,” the statement read. “Where will such a company source $4 billion to finance a petrochemical fertiliser plant in Ondo State? Which financial institution will extend a multi-billion-dollar loan to a company without a verifiable track record?”
AGGA maintained that the state government ought to have conducted thorough due diligence before signing any agreement, warning that past experiences have shown that some investors present attractive proposals only to exploit loopholes and siphon public resources.
The group also referenced the 2024 incident involving the Ogun State Government, in which a French court authorised the Chinese firm Zhongshan Fucheng Industrial Investment Co. Ltd. to seize three of Nigeria’s presidential jets over a $74.5 million arbitration award arising from a contractual dispute with the state government.
Describing itself as a civil society organisation committed to transparency, accountability and good governance, AGGA demanded that the Ondo State Government disclose the identity of the company behind the deep seaport MoU.
It further called for comprehensive details of the agreement signed with Resident Fertiliser, noting that Governor Aiyedatiwa has three years left in office.
“The people of Ondo State must not wake up in the future to discover that their collective destiny has been mortgaged through opaque agreements,” the statement added.
