Ondo State government announced a 30-year development plan, “Ondo 2054’’ in Akure on Sunday.

Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Emmanuel Igbasan, said the plan, designed in collaboration with the UNDP, was for the infrastructural and socio-economic development of all parts of the state.

He said the state’s House of Assembly would legislate over the plan to give it legal backing.

“As a people, we must define a clear path for our progress.

“For a nation to experience progress and development, there must be a clear, strategic and sustainable trajectory, which provides the compass to guide and direct efforts and resources.

“The future we all desire depends on the vision we have; the strength of the foundation we lay and the efforts we make today.

“It is, therefore, against this realisation that the present administration, in compliance with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Law 2017, started the process of charting a clear path.

“The path will address our present day challenges and provide the highway for accelerated development for the next 30 years.

“The core objective of this exercise is to galvanise all citizens and friends of Ondo State to collectively set the policy direction that will optimise our efforts and harness our potentials.

“It is to define the future we want and to channel our energies to catalyse the socio-economic activities that will guarantee a shared prosperity for all, irrespective of the party in power,’’ he said.

Igbasan stressed that Ondo State needed the long-term development plan also for the adequate and accelerated exploration of the natural resources in its 18 local government areas.

“Our development and technical partner, the UNDP, assisted us in conducting the needs assessment throughout the 18 local government areas and trained our technical staff on system dynamics approach.

“Ondo State is ranked as the 7th biggest economy in Nigeria.

“It has tremendous potential to be the giant of Nigeria as the highest producer of cocoa; the largest deposit of bitumen and boasts of arable and fertile land with various vegetation.

“The state is blessed with gold, oil and gas, granite, silica and ceramics, but most essentially it is populated with about six million intelligent, honest and industrious people,’’ the commissioner said.

Igbasan said government would establish a steering committee with which residents and investors could liaise to actualise the project.