The Ooni Of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese firm, China Overseas Energy Development Technology Limited, to create 50,000 jobs.
This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Director, Media & Public Affairs, Ooni’s Palace, Moses Olafare, on Tuesday.
Present at the signing of the MoU was Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke. With the agreement, the Chinese company would invest in agriculture, green energy and explore the gold, lithium and other minerals deposits in Ile-Ife and Osun at large.
The Ooni said, “The partnership we are signing today with China Overseas Technology Development Company Limited is going to give over 50,000 employment opportunities to Osun indigenes. These people would first invest in agriculture whereby they would set up a cocoa proceeding plant in Ife where they are going to have their agricultural hub.
“They will farm on over 20,000 hectares of land, generate green energy using solar which is starting from this palace, this palace will be powered by solar 100 per cent within the next 30 to 60 days when it’s already completed.”
Adeleke welcomed the foreign investors and lauded Ooni for his initiative to conceive the idea and bring it to reality.
In August, a new study from Green Finance and Development Center, a research centre based at Fudan University in Shanghai, revealed that Chinese companies were set to double their ownership of overseas mines containing critical minerals needed for energy transition.
According to the report, the value of Chinese investments and new contracts in the metals and mining sector had already exceeded $10bn during the first half of 2023, a 131 per cent growth rate when compared with the same period last year.
Credit: punchng.com
