The Allied People’s Movement (APM) candidate for Okitipupa Constituency I in the 2027 Ondo State House of Assembly election, Comrade Olawande Temidayo Ajayi, has pledged to champion the resuscitation of the abandoned Ikoya Cassava Processing Plant, describing the project as a critical economic asset capable of transforming the fortunes of thousands of cassava farmers across Ikale land.
Ajayi, in a statement on Wednesday, lamented that the processing plant, initiated and brought close to completion during the administration of the late Dr. Olusegun Agagu, had been abandoned by successive governments despite its enormous economic potential.
According to him, the neglect of the facility has deprived farmers of opportunities for value addition, job creation, industrial growth, and increased income, forcing many to continue selling raw cassava at low prices.
“As your representative in the Ondo State House of Assembly, I will make the revival of the Ikoya Cassava Processing Plant one of my legislative priorities. Our people are predominantly cassava farmers. What they need is not another political promise but the infrastructure that guarantees prosperity.”
“The resuscitation of the plant will create jobs, strengthen the agricultural value chain, attract agro allied investments, boost internally generated revenue, and reposition Ikale land as a major cassava processing hub in Nigeria.”
Ajayi said agriculture remains the backbone of the local economy and insisted that government must move beyond rhetoric by completing and activating projects that directly improve the livelihoods of the people.
He added that the Ikoya Cassava Processing Plant should no longer remain a monument to abandoned government projects but become a symbol of economic revival and industrial development.
The APM candidate called on stakeholders, traditional rulers, farmers’ associations, and development partners to support the campaign for the restoration of the facility, stressing that reviving the plant would unlock enormous opportunities for Okitipupa Constituency I and the entire Ikale nation.
