- Origins
Fifty years ago, on this soil, a dream took root. On the 3rd of February 1976, the old Western State was transformed into three brand-new states, one of which was named Ondo, after the existing province of the same name. The 18,165 square kilometres of land carried the hopes and aspirations of 2.7 million people, blending ethnicity, language, religion, and geography — stretching from the shores of the Atlantic Ocean northwards into the rainforest, and taking pride in being the place where Yorubaland and the Benin Kingdom blend into an endearing cultural spectacle.
- Heritage and Leadership
Ondo is a land of great kingdoms — from Akure to Ondo to Owo to Ilaje to Ikale and many more. These kingdoms are our eternal heritage, dating no back centuries. Long before Ondo State existed in name, our ancestors walked and farmed this blessed land, crowned monarchs, built formidable kingdoms, and raised generations of great people.
Today, and always, we celebrate that history — our roots, our strength. We celebrate the founding leaders and icons of Ondo State: eighteen leaders across these fifty years - eleven military administrators and seven civilian governors, including the incumbent.
- The People Who Built Ondo
Very importantly, we celebrate the people who built the State: the millions of farmers, teachers, artisans, entrepreneurs, and civil servants — across the State and in the diaspora. The everyday heroes of Ondo State, whose toil and sweat forged a thriving landscape out of very modest beginnings.
Many embarked on a homecoming journey from across the old Western State and beyond, excited by the chance to build a homeland of their own. They built a public service, built infrastructure, built homes and families, and pursued dreams of individual and collective greatness.
- Personal Roots and Shared Heritage I am a proud daughter of Ondo State, from a family deeply shaped by public service across generations — a tradition that mirrors the quiet sacrifice and commitment to community that define so many families across our State. I grew up in the old Ondo State, in a time when our boundaries were wider and our sense of belonging was seamless — when a child could spend her week moving between Akure and Ado-Ekiti, and feel equally at home in both places.
We therefore acknowledge our shared history with our brothers and sisters in Ekiti State — not as distant neighbours, but as family shaped by shared roads, shared schools, shared markets, and shared memories — a common heritage that continues to bind us in culture, values, and memory, before and after our paths formally diverged. 5. The Omoluabi Ethic
And what is this Ondo heritage that I speak of? It is the Omoluabi ethic — embodying hard work, integrity, hospitality, creativity, community, and intellectualism. A people who value education, knowledge, and progress; who know the value of home and live in harmony with the rocks, trees, hills, valleys, and waters that dot our landscape.
- Geography and Economic Position
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, like Nigeria, agriculture and oil collectively generate the bulk of Ondo’s gross domestic product as a State. We are the link between the South-West and South-South geopolitical zones of Nigeria, straddling both not just geographically but culturally as well — bringing together people of Yoruba, Ijaw, and Edo origins, united as Ondo people while still retaining the traditions that confer uniqueness on us.
- A Tradition of Bold Ambition
Ondo State has always been ambitious and desirous of progress. I recently came across a document outlining the Ondo State 1977/78 budget, and some things struck me. That budget was fifty percent higher than the previous year’s budget. Transportation took the lion’s share of capital expenditure — to finance the construction of one thousand kilometres of roads across the State and an airstrip intended as an interim project pending what would later become the Akure Airport.
Even back then, our founding leaders saw opportunity more than limitation — and they left standards that we must rediscover and surpass.
- Vision and Direction
Fifty years on, we stand at a momentous juncture — reflecting on yesterday, acting decisively in the present, and shaping tomorrow. The starting point is clarity of vision.
What kind of Ondo State do we want to build? What should it look and feel like?
There are many things we need not agree on in life — but a shared vision for our State is not one of them. As the Prophet Habakkuk reminds us: “Write down the vision; make it plain upon tablets, so that the one who reads it may run.”
- The Sunshine State
Ondo consistently ranks among Nigeria’s most promising states by natural endowment. This is why we are Nigeria’s Sunshine State — not in reference to climate, but to meaning. Sunshine represents warmth, energy, life, positivity, and hope.
- Resources and Opportunity
Like the sun and its array of visible and invisible light, Ondo State underpins Nigeria’s agricultural and industrial existence. Our vast cocoa fields transform into chocolate that earns foreign exchange. Our timber shelters the nation. Our palm oil and cassava feed households and industries. Our bitumen becomes roads and highways that connect millions of Nigerians to their livelihoods.
We are also blessed with rubber, kaolin, limestone, granite, silica clay, fish, shrimps, and crayfish in abundance. We could very easily be the food basket of West Africa. And having set a national record in 2015 as the first state to establish a university dedicated to the medical sciences, Ondo should raise the bar for healthcare and domestic medical tourism.
- Women at the Centre of Ondo’s Story
I must pay special tribute to the women of Ondo State — from our regent princesses who safeguarded royal institutions during times of transition, to the trailblazers who broke national and global barriers in public service, academia, culture, business, and the arts. Ondo women have consistently shaped history, not from the margins, but from the centre.
- Progressive Politics and National Leadership
Deeply embedded in the DNA of Ondo State is a strong inclination toward progressive politics. It is no coincidence that Ondo statesmen played prominent roles in the establishment of Afenifere — including Reuben Fasoranti, Olu Falae, Adebayo Adefarati, and Wunmi Adegbonmire.
Against this backdrop, it becomes easy to understand President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s close and deeply personal connection to Ondo State. In October 2022, while campaigning for the presidency, one of his most symbolic visits was to Akure — to consult with and pay homage to his political father, Pa Reuben Fasoranti.
- Ondo at the Centre of National Leadership
The President remains deeply grateful for the support he received from Baba then, and for the support he continues to receive today. In a heart-warming and symbolic coincidence, Baba Fasoranti will celebrate his 100th birthday this year, just months after Ondo State marks its 50th anniversary — a powerful reminder of the enduring bond between a statesman and his dearly beloved State.
I must add here that Baba Fasoranti played a direct and formative role in my joining President Tinubu’s team — a personal act of faith and mentorship for which I remain deeply grateful.
Ondo State gave President Tinubu a decisive victory in the February 2023 presidential elections, and today our State is firmly represented at the centre of national leadership — with the Honourable Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo; the Honourable Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande; and other key appointees serving the nation.
- Federal Projects and the Deep Sea Port
President Tinubu is fully committed to helping Ondo State unlock its vast development potential. Ondo hosts 71 kilometres of the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway — a landmark project that will transform Nigeria’s Atlantic coastline.
Other major federal projects include the Akure–Ore dual carriageway, the Akure–Ado Ekiti Road, and the Federal University of Technology Teaching Hospital in Akure.
The Ondo Deep Sea Port in Araromi is also gathering momentum. Just last month, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa received the port’s revalidated licence — a major milestone on the path to delivery. When completed, it will be West Africa’s deepest seaport, with a natural draught of about 18 metres.
- Industrialization, Energy, and the Future
Our cocoa, timber, palm oil, bitumen, and hydrocarbons must not continue to leave Ondo State in raw form. Value addition — chocolate, furniture, processed palm oil, petroleum products, and petrochemicals — is how we create jobs, generate revenue, and secure dignity.
As Special Adviser to the President on Energy, I am helping to drive the reforms that are restoring Nigeria’s competitiveness — reforms designed to attract investment not for its own sake, but to create jobs, deepen industrial activity, raise incomes, and improve the everyday lives of Nigerians. .Ondo State — with gas infrastructure running through it, the revival of the Odigbo power plant, and modular LNG projects underway — is uniquely positioned to become an energy and industrial hub. There is simply no reason Ondo State should know darkness.
- Conclusion
As we mark fifty years of Ondo State, anniversaries must be moments of recommitment. The story of Ondo is not finished — in truth, it is only entering its most consequential chapter.
The generation before us gave land, institutions, and identity. Our responsibility is to give opportunity, dignity, and a future our children do not need to leave home to find.
If we unite vision with discipline, ambition with integrity, and heritage with innovation, then when Ondo gathers again fifty years from now, history will say of us: they honoured their past, rose to their moment, and secured the future.
May Ondo State continue to shine — yesterday, today, and forever.
Thank you.