Obaseki, investors, others inspect fertilizer plant in Auchi, Okpella
BENIN - EDO state Governor, Mr. Godwin
Obaseki has assured Edo people that the abandoned fertilizer plant at
Auchi would be put into use in the next three months to create the
first set of employment to the people.
Obaseki made the disclosure weekend
while speaking with Journalists, shortly after he made an on-the-spot
assessment visit to the site with the Managing Director of the
Nigerian Sovereign Wealth Fund, Mr Uche Orji along with other
investors in Auchi, Etsako West local government area.
He said, “Well as you can see for
yourselves, this is the type of industry they said they built for us
when they said they were going to industrialize Edo.
“We have come with some investors,
Mr. Uche Orji is the Managing Director of the Nigerian Sovereign
Wealth Funds and you know that they have a programme for fertilizer
and agriculture in the country.
“So we have brought them to come and
see this facility and to see what we can do to reactivate it; that is
the purpose of our being here”.
He added,“depending on how quickly we
can move with investors; we have some interests from the private
sector who understand the fertilizer business and we will get them to
come and invest with us. From the positive indications, we believe
that we can get this factory running before April,"
On his part Orji, lamented the loss of
billions of naira by Edo state these years saying, “with this type
of facilities in the state, Edo state has been missing lots of
opportunities with a factory like this,’’
According to him, “once the governor
and the investors have agreed, I don’t think it will take too long
to get this plant running”.
“Our objective as the governor has
mentioned, is to put the raw materials into this plant and have it to
start working,’’
"The president has presidential
initiative for fertilizer, and the idea is instead of importing
finished fertilizer, we bring in the component and blend it locally.
“If you do that, price will come down
significantly and luckily, Edo is a state that has lots of raw
materials needed.
“So this should be a natural
advantage for Edo state to start which will employ alot of people.
“It will also at the same time, bring
alot of advantages with it; bring down the prices of fertilizer for
the farmers that is the idea of the presidential special programme".
Mr. Thomas Etu, President Fertilizer
Producers Association of Nigeria, who described the abandoned
fertilizer plant as a great facility said “with some little
investments, this factory will be up and running in the next two to
three months”.
Etu said that, “with the presidential
initiative on ground, it is a place that jobs would be created, as we
are looking at a minimum of one thousand people being on a train of
shifts running in this factory and the prices of fertilizer would
come down and become affordable to the farmers at N5,500.
“While the product will be sold here
at the plant at N5,000 per bag; so it is a great opportunity and we
should be thanking the governor for showing interest to look at this
plant and see how it is going to be beneficial to everybody in the
state".
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