Abia State Governor Alex Otti has urged Presco Plc to start its proposed oil palm investment on the government-owned Ulonna Farm Settlement while additional land is secured, his office said in a statement after a meeting with the company at Government House, Umuahia, on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
"I think we can start from the known to the unknown. We have Ulonna Farm Settlement that belongs to the government," Otti said, according to the statement. On the memorandum of understanding, he said: "So, if there are dotted lines, let's sign them and let's start."
Two Sites, 5,000 Jobs
Ulonna covers about 4,200 hectares. Otti said that if the project needs 10,000 hectares, just under 6,000 hectares remain to be found. Presco chairman Rasheed Sarumi said the investment spans two locations: Ulonna, where old trees will be cleared and the land replanted, and about 12,000 hectares of community land at Ozuitem.
The project is expected to create about 5,000 direct jobs and generate tax revenue for the state, according to the governor's office. Presco spent seven months engaging stakeholders on the project. "The promise I made when we came was that this investment would be made because we have a government that understands business," Sarumi said.
The delegation included Ike Chioke, Group Managing Director of Afrinvest. Commissioner for Agriculture Cliff Agbaeze and Commissioner for Lands Chaka Chukwumerije attended for the state. Otti pledged to help Presco reach more land and finalise the agreements needed for operations to begin, Leadership reported.
A $200 Million Plan From March
The meeting follows talks earlier in the year. In March 2026, Otti announced that Abia would sign a memorandum of understanding with Presco for a $200 million palm oil production and processing investment, starting on 14,000 hectares, Vanguard reported on March 14, 2026. Presco identified Ozuitem, Abam and Ulonna as potential sites at the time. "Our investment here will add multi-billion naira annually to Abia State's GDP," Sarumi said then.
The October statement gave no investment figure, and the memorandum of understanding had not yet been signed.
Why Palm Oil Supply Matters
Palm oil is a daily cooking staple across Nigeria. The National Bureau of Statistics listed palm oil among the items whose average prices fell in September 2026, as food prices dropped 1.55% month on month, Vanguard reported.
FoodPrices Nigeria tracks palm oil prices across Lagos markets. Any effect of the Abia project on Lagos prices will depend on how fast it moves from agreement to planting and processing.
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