True to his long time promise, Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has finally taken steps to discourage any foreign country annexation or incursion into Tongeji Island, a peripheral appendage of the state which many believed is eyed by Nigeria's neighbour, Benin Republic as it is nearer the island than the state administrative capital, Abeokuta.
Governor Abiodun has now allocated 100 hectares of land to the Nigerian Navy to build a Forward Operating Base (FOB), a sure step to put paid to doubts of Nigeria's ownership of the distant island.
Prince Abiodun made this known during a courtesy visit to the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, in his office in Abuja.
The FOB, according to the governor, would be established in the Ogun Waterside Local Government Area of the state, closer for security supervision of the naval personnel than from the state capital.
He said that the naval facility will protect some strategic investments and safeguard the sovereignty of Nigeria at Tongeji Island.
He said: “Ogun State has always had a long and fruitful relationship with the security apparatus of the nation and has been adjudged to be one of the most secured and peaceful states in Nigeria.
“As part of ongoing efforts towards deepening that relationship with members of the armed forces, I am happy to announce that Ogun State has allocated 100 hectares of land to the Nigerian Navy to build a Forward Operating Base in Ogun Waterside Local Government that will consist of a naval dockyard and a naval base.
“This base and dockyard will provide security for the investments coming into that area, including the proposed OK LNG project being spearheaded by NNPC Limited, the proposed Olokola Deep Sea Port, and will safeguard the sovereignty of Nigeria at Tongeji Island (part of Ipokia LG, Ogun State) and activities by NNPC Limited towards oil exploration, given the state’s frontier status as conferred by the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources.”
Responding, the Chief of Naval Staff said that although he inherited the project from his predecessor, he embraced it upon assuming office because of its importance and the value inherent in it.
Vice Admiral Ogalla expressed gratitude to the governor for the gesture, promising that construction will start immediately as it is provided for in the 2024 budget.
With a land mass of approximately 200 hectares and a population of over 500 people, Tongeji Island is situated less than five minutes drive from Port Novo in Benin Republic, and 150 minutes by speedboat from the Western Naval Command (WNC) headquarters in Apapa, Lagos.
Surrounded by aquatic splendour, the island with its enormous palm/coconut trees, white sand, greenery, humid weather and most recently discovered crude oil which made the island a jewel coveted by Nigeria's neighbour.
Governor Abiodun has since his first term in office promised to do something about the prolonged negligence of the island by preceding governments and by his recent move has finally accorded the island its much desired government's presence.
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