Governor of Ondo State, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, says the regional integration project among states in Southwest Nigeria will promote unity and preserve the cultural heritage of the region for generations yet unborn.
A statement made available to THE PRECISION by the press officer in the office of the governor, Bode Akinwumi, said the governor gave the charge when the management team of the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria, DAWN, paid him a courtesy visit in Akure.
Mr Akeredolu commended the commission for its vision for the Southwest states adding that at the regular meeting of governors of the geopolitical zone, the success of the integration had always been topical.
The governor who expressed his determination towards the actualization of the mission and vision of DAWN called for a common institution where a Southwest university that will be established for research and preservation of the region’s cultural values that will bind everyone together in unison.
Earlier, DAWN Acting Director General, Seye Oyeleye, said the commission was established by the six Southwestern states with the aim of promoting unity and proffer solutions to myriads of challenges facing the region .
Mr Oyeleye commended the governor for signing an MoU on the road linking Araromi sea-side, Ondo State to Lekki in Lagos noting that this forms part of the policies guiding the commission.
He said Ondo State has been an active participants since the establishment of the commission enjoined the governor to appoint someone on regional integration that will serve as an intermediary between the state and the commission.
The Acting Director General used the opportunity to present a report carried out with some external partners on the resuscitation and sustainability of cocoa and its value chains.
He however, implored the governor to tap into the four hundred billion dollar cocoa industry project across the world strategically not only for the development of the state but for the entire region.
Present on the occasion are: the State Deputy governor Hon Agboola Ajayi; Secretary to the State Government, Ifedayo Abegunde, Head of Service, Oluwatoyin Akinkuotu and Chief of Staff to the Governor, Olugbenga Ale.