By Femi Ogbonnikan

Ogun State has once again proven its economic mettle, ranking second nationwide in the 2025 State Performance Index (pSPI) by Phillips Consulting. The report spotlights the state’s aggressive industrial expansion, strategic infrastructure pipeline, and its unique competitive advantage as the manufacturing gateway adjacent to Lagos.

In a rigorous assessment measuring governance, economic vitality, infrastructure, and citizen well-being, Ogun firmly clinched the runner-up spot behind Lagos State. This achievement is a direct reflection of the Abiodun administration’s blueprint for progress. By turning developmental goals into reality, the government is successfully positioning Ogun State as the definitive industrial and economic hub for both Nigeria and the West African sub-region.

By this performance, the Abiodun administration has made a clear statement: Ogun is no longer Lagos’ neighbour. It is Lagos’ industrial partner. With policy consistency, infrastructure delivery, and real factories on the ground, it has positioned itself as Nigeria’s investment destination of choice for manufacturers who want scale without Lagos’ headaches.

For the administration, the investment drive is also political capital. A state with visible factories, steady power, and jobs is easier to defend electorally than one with only promises. But beyond politics, Ogun is testing a model: can a Nigerian state industrialise without oil money? By betting on manufacturing, agriculture, and services tied to Lagos, Ogun is building a tax base that doesn’t depend on federal allocation.

If the Gateway State sustains this pace, the 2025 pSPI ranking will look conservative by 2027. Investors don’t move in for one year. They build 10-year plants. With the conducive environment established by the Abiodun administration, new industrial plants are already going up across Ogun.

Phillips Consulting said Ogun’s showing “is a clear statement of the Abiodun administration’s overarching objective of transforming the state into an economic and industrial hub — not just in Nigeria, but across the West African sub-region.”

That ranking is no longer just data on paper. Walk through Agbara, Atan-Ota, Sagamu, or the new Olokola corridor and you see what the numbers mean: cranes, new factory gates, and “Now Hiring” banners. Ogun is quietly becoming Nigeria’s most deliberate investment destination.

Investors don’t choose states by sentiment. They choose by cost, speed, and predictability. Ogun is winning on all three. Ogun sits on Lagos’ eastern and northern flanks. It has access to Lagos ports and airport without Lagos land costs, congestion, or urban taxes. For manufacturers moving containers, that 30-60km buffer to Apapa/Tin Can cuts both rent and traffic risk. The “Greater Lagos-Ogun Industrial Corridor” policy formalized this advantage, harmonising regulations on freight, security, and waste with Lagos State.

This buffer is strategic. Lagos land in Ikeja or Apapa now costs 4-5 times more per square meter than Agbara or Atan-Ota. Traffic gridlock around Tin Can adds 2-3 days to container turnaround. For a factory producing 10,000 units daily, those delays are expensive. Ogun offers proximity without paralysis.

Through OGSIPFA, the state created a single window for approvals. Land allocation, building permits, and business registration timelines were slashed from months to weeks. The Ogun State Business Environment Council meets quarterly with private sector representatives to remove friction points. For investors burned by bureaucratic delays elsewhere, that predictability is currency. OGSIPFA’s aftercare unit is the differentiator. Once an investor lands, a dedicated officer helps navigate NAFDAC, SON, NEPA, and local government levies. That hand-holding reduces the Nigeria risk premium investors price into every project.

Abiodun’s gateway infrastructure doctrine treats roads, power, and rail as the primary attraction, not tax waivers. Tax breaks expire. Good roads don’t. The 19km Ijebu-Ode-Epe Expressway, ongoing Sagamu-Benin Expressway rehabilitation, and rural road upgrades under the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project are all designed to move goods, not just people. Additionally, the state hosts two of Nigeria’s six free trade zones: Olokola FTZ in the West and Gateway International FTZ near the Lagos border. Both are built for export manufacturing, with customs processes embedded on-site. Olokola is positioned for petrochemicals and deep-sea port access. Gateway FTZ targets light manufacturing for the West African market.

The pSPI ranking reflects what’s happening on the ground. Between 2023 and mid-2025, Ogun recorded one of the highest concentrations of new industrial projects in Nigeria. OGSIPFA puts Direct Foreign Investment (DFI) commitments at over $1.8bn in that period, with 60 percent-plus in manufacturing.

Procter & Gamble expanded its Agbara plant with a new production line for personal care products. The expansion added over 300 direct jobs and increased local sourcing of raw materials. Nestlé Nigeria deepened investment in Agbara with backward integration into cassava and grains processing, reducing import dependence. Unilever Nigeria consolidated operations in Agbara, shifting some Lagos-based production to Ogun to leverage lower operating costs and dedicated power. Dufil Prima Foods opened additional noodle production lines in Sagamu, citing Ogun’s road access and stable energy as key factors.

Coleman Technical & Materials commissioned a new cable manufacturing plant in Arepo, positioning it as one of West Africa’s largest wire/cable hubs. The plant serves Nigeria’s power, telecoms, and construction sectors. Dangote Cement expanded grinding capacity at Ibese Plant. Ibese is now among the largest single-site cement plants globally, with output feeding the South-West and export markets. Lafarge Africa upgraded Sagamu plant operations with energy efficiency retrofits, cutting carbon emissions per ton of cement. Over 12 Chinese steel and aluminum processing companies set up in the Agbara-Atan-Ota belt, supplying construction and auto sectors. These mid-sized firms fill a gap between large integrated mills and informal fabricators.

Emzor Pharmaceutical expanded manufacturing lines in Sagamu, moving more drug production in-country under the federal backward integration policy. May & Baker Nigeria increased capacity for IV fluids and essential medicines at its Ota facility. BASF & Berger Paints expanded distribution and mixing plants to serve the South-West market from Ogun, reducing logistics costs to Lagos, Ibadan, and Ilorin.

Flutterwave opened a technology and operations hub in Abeokuta, hiring software engineers and customer support staff outside Lagos. The move signals tech decentralization beyond Yaba. Kobo360 and other logistics startups set up fleet management and warehousing nodes along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway axis in Ogun to serve e-commerce growth. Several IPP-backed firms installed mini-grids and cold storage facilities for agro-processing in Yewa and Ijebu zones. Flour Mills Nigeria expanded cassava-to-ethanol and starch processing in Yewa, linking to local farmer clusters under the Anchor Borrowers Programme. Golden Sugar Company increased refining capacity with new packaging lines in Sagamu. Imota Rice Mill suppliers scaled operations to feed Lagos’ Imota Rice Mill, creating a cross-state value chain that benefits Ogun farmers and Lagos consumers.

Across these sectors, conservative estimates put new direct jobs at 15,000-20,000 since 2023, with 3x that in indirect jobs through logistics, packaging, security, and services. That’s 60,000 livelihoods tied to factories, not federal allocation.

The factories didn’t arrive by accident. They followed specific Abiodun administration policies aimed at sustainable, not speculative, growth. Manufacturing dies without power. Ogun licensed three Independent Power Projects (IPP) and signed MOUs for solar mini-grids inside industrial parks. The Gateway Power Project is delivering dedicated 20MW to Agbara Industrial Estate. For factories, that means less diesel, lower unit cost, and longer machine life. The state is also leveraging gas pipelines running through Ogun for gas-to-power, aligning with Nigeria’s energy transition goals. Several manufacturers now run on gas turbines instead of diesel generators, cutting energy costs by 30-40 per cent.
Ogbonnikan is a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Ogun State Governor on Media.