Seventeen years after its launch with high hopes of transforming Ondo State’s agricultural sector, the Ikoya Cassava Refinery in Okitipupa Local Government lies in ruins—its gates rusting, machines silent, and promises unfulfilled.
The multimillion-naira facility, initiated under the administration of former Governor Olusegun Agagu, was expected to create hundreds of jobs, process cassava into food and industrial products, and boost the state’s internally generated revenue. Today, however, it stands as a symbol of abandoned projects and wasted potential.
In an open letter to the newly appointed Commissioner for Agriculture and Forestry, Engr. Olaleye Akinola, community activist Comrade Niyi Arogbo described the refinery’s abandonment as a “missed economic lifeline” for Ikale land and neighbouring communities.
“This project merits urgent reexamination. Reviving it will create jobs for our youths, promote farming, and reduce overdependence on the civil service,” Arogbo said, urging the commissioner to rebrand and reopen the facility with qualified experts at the helm.
Residents say the factory’s revival could spark a ripple effect—revitalising local farms, supporting smallholder farmers, and boosting rural economies. But they fear that without political will, the refinery may remain yet another casualty of Nigeria’s long list of unfinished projects.
Agricultural stakeholders across the state are now watching closely to see if the Aiyedatiwa administration will breathe life into the refinery—or allow it to remain a decaying monument to unkept promises.
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