The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Industrialisation

  • Trade key to Africa’s industrialisation, says ECA

    To fast-track its industrialisation, there is need for Africa to focus on cross border trade,  the Economic Report on Africa (ERA), has said.

    According to the report, “Africa needs to focus on cross-border trade and it must rise up the value chain”.

    The report was launched by Minister of Trade and Industry, Ghana, Dr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah  and Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Dr. Arkebe Oqubay, during the Conference of African Ministers of Finance and Economic Development in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

    According to Spio-Garbrah, this year’s report builds on the key messages of the previous editions of ERA and focuses on industrialisation and structural transformation. He called on policy makers in the continent to translate the ERA recommendations into actions.

    Oqubay said: “We need to focus on three issues to engage in the global market. One, improve and deepen exports. Two, ensure the domestic market is integrated. Three, be cautious on the overshooting of the service sector while manufacturing is yet low.”

    Deputy Executive Secretary, ECA, Mr. Abdalla Hamdok, highlighted the importance of addressing the challenge of being stuck in the bottom of the global value chain. He said: “There is empirical evidence of bi-directional relationship between industrialisation and trade. It is important to gear trade policies towards national development objectives and be selective in specific sectors as the endeavour is costly.”

    He indicated that trade could reverse the course of industrialisation, unless carefully designed.

    While discussing the growth in Africa, its prospects and challenges, Director, Macroeconomic Policy Division, ECA, Mr. Adam Elhiraika, said: “Africa’s growth prospects remain positive despite strong headwinds, with increased private consumption and investment being the key drivers of growth in the year.

    “The account deficit is expected to remain high owing to trade deficits and increased demand for capital goods. Stable inflation underpins Africa’s economic performance may decline from 6.9 per cent in 2015 to 6.7 per cent in 2016. Private capital inflows are expected to remain strong in 2015, thanks to improved business climate and profit prospects.”

  • Ajaokuta: How govt put industrialisation in reverse gear

    Ajaokuta: How govt put industrialisation in reverse gear

    About $3.3 billion is spent on steel importation annually. This is projected to rise to $15 billion. But, despite parading the record of having the second largest iron ore deposit in Africa, Nigeria has, curiously, failed to breathe life into the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State. The project has become a huge drain pipe and a campaign tool for successive administrations. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA writes that unless the facility is resuscitated, Nigerian industrialisation drive will remain a mirage.

    President Goodluck Jonathan, at a  campaign rally by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, dangled the proverbial carrot before the electorate. He promised  the completion of the moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company (ASCL), Nigeria’s largest integrated steel plant tagged: “bedrock of Nigeria’s industrialisation.”

    At the rally, which was held at the Lokoja Confluence Stadium, President Jonathan told a crowd of party supporters that all the legal issues that slowed down the multi-billion dollar project expected to produce 1.3 million metric tons (MT) of liquid steel per annum,have been resolved to pave the way for its completion.

    Jonathan’s words: “The Ajaokuta Iron and Steel Complex is dear to us. This is a government that promises and fulfills its promises. During my inaugural speech in 2011, we made promises in that speech and we have addressed all. We are addressing the issue of the Iron and Steel Company. We are not playing politics with it. The Attorney-General has been handling the legal issues. We have been slowed down because of legal issues. The Attorney-General has travelled to London more than 20 times and now we have got to the end, we will move ahead.”

    However, the President’s hope of riding on the promise of completing the project to curry votes at last weekend’s presidential election was dashed  Although, ASCL holds the collective aspiration and desire of Nigerians for self-sufficiency in steel and halts the unbridled importation of steel products that costs the nation an estimated $3.3 billion annually, The Nation learnt that a few indigenes of the state, who were at the rally, refused to be swayed by what they considered an empty promise.

    Their skepticisms are justified. Since September 1979, when the project was conceived with the vision of generating important upstream and downstream industrial and economic activities critical to the diversification of the economy into an industrial one, it has been a tool for campaign promises by successive administrations, which never came to pass. The project suffered the same fate in 2011 when Jonathan campaigned for his first term in office. To most indigenes of the state and indeed, Nigerians, the President was merely playing to the gallery as the fortune of the steel plant has never improved since his administration mounted the saddle.

    Located on 24,000 hectares of sprawling green-field land-mass, the Steel Plant, built on 800-hectares of land, was embarked upon as a strategic industry, a job creator and a foreign exchange earner. It was envisaged that it would generate a myriad of socio-economic benefits and increase the productive capacity of the nation through its linkages to other industrial sectors.

    Using thetime tested Blast-Furnace – Basic Oxygen Furnace route for steel production, the project would also provide materials for infrastructural development, technology acquisition, human capacity building, income distribution, regional development and employment generation. While the project would directly employ about 10,000 staff at the first phase of commissioning, the upstream and downstream industries are expected to engage over 500, 000 employees, among other benefits.

    Unfortunately, none of the benefits has come the way of Nigerians 36 years down the line. If anything, it has become a0huge drain pipe on the nation’s resources, as Nigeria, according to Minister of Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, continues to spend about $3.3 billion annually on steel importation. The Minster, who spoke at the commissioning of the Cld Roll Mill Project of Kamwire Industries Limited in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital recently, projected that the import bill may rise to $15 billion in the next 10 years.

    “We spend $3.3 billion every year importing steel. In the next decade because of the way we are growing that $3.3 billion will become $15 billion,” Aganga said, warning that: “We will not be able to afford it as a nation and it will become a balance of payment deficit. That is why we came up with the industrial revolution plan.” While pointing out that the sector is the backbone of any economic or industrial development in any nation, the Minister said the current administration was “determined to take the risks and forcefully revolutionise industrialisation in Nigeria.”

    Experts have, however, called to question the current administration’s commitment to its industrialisation mantra, insisting that it failed in the last six years to match words with action by mustering the political will to complete the ASCL. This is despite the fact that a developed and virile steel industry would not only save the nation scarce foreign exchange, but create opportunities for varied capacity building. Besides, the project, according to experts, holds the key to the attainment of vision 20-2020 and the Federal Government Transformation Agenda.

    Rather than help the country achieve these objectives, ASCL has become a subject of intense controversy and politicking by various interests. It was the clash of interests that culminated in the termination of the concession agreement between the Federal Government and Global Infra­structure Nigeria Ltd (GNIL), an Indian firm, in 2008. Although, the Federal Government had accused the Indian firm of breaching the provisions of the concession agreement and asset stripping, the company had gone to the International Court of Arbitration in London, challenging the revocation of the agreement.

    Although, Jonathan said all the legal hurdles slowing down the project have been removed, the project has been a subject of legislative scrutiny following revelations that the country was paying huge sums of money to the company’s idle staff. This has pitched members of the House of Representatives against the management of the facility, which insisted that certain forces are bent on frustrating efforts at getting the project back on track.

    According to the company’s Sole Administrator, Mr. Joseph Onobere Isah, an Engineer, “There are certain agents in our midst that have not been comfortable with the modest achievements we have recorded in Ajaokuta so far and the course of action we are charting towards making liquid steel production a reality in our country. Isah, who spoke while presenting the achievements and challenges of the steel plant before members of the House of Representatives Committee on Steel Development in Abuja, said such forces might have been responsible for the allegation of staff idleness levelled against the company.

    He said contrary to the allegation, the company’s staff work tirelessly daily to ensure that the plant was well-maintained and running. The staff, according to him, were not being paid N3.4 billion monthly as the Chairman of Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) Alhaji Aliyu Kola Belgore,  reportedly said last year at an event in Ilorin. Isah, who said Belgore wrote to explain that he was misquoted, reminded the House Committee members that it was because of Belgore’s statement that he was summoned, following a motion by a  member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, that the claim be investigated.

    He explained that Belgore, in a letter to the management dated September 8, last year, denied the newspaper stories, stating in part: “I did not and will never disparage the company as I do not work there. It is out of place for me to know and mention anything about the total monthly wage bill, the number of machines installed and the number of staff of the company.” However, he said: “The recent motion by Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, coming after over four months of the publication and echoing the AMCON Chairman’s statement and newspaper publications, deserves to be investigated to stop the vicious circle of misinformation.”

    The ASCL Sole Administrator urged the Committee to authenticate Hon. Tajudeen’s allegations.  He recalled that the House of Representatives Committee on Steel recommended N3, 821,718,510 to the Appropriation Committee as the 2014 Personnel Cost for ASCL. The Appropriation Committee of the National Assembly, he said, approved the same amount as the 2014 Personnel Cost for ASCL and that it was the same amount that was in the 2014 Appropriation Bill for the 2014 Personnel Cost (salaries) of the company.

    Isah said: “From the foregoing, the onus of providing evidence to back the AMCON chairman’s figure of N3.4 billion as ASCL monthly wage bill, which has been severally quoted, naturally falls on Alhaji Belgore. The House of Representatives Committee on Steel would do well to demand such evidence from Alhaji Belgore. Should there be any proof of a hike in the figure known to Alhaji Belgore, then he could avail the Committee of it.”

    The Accountant-General of the Federation and the Director-General (Budget), he said, could be asked to tender the releases made through IPP1S (Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System) in respect of Ajaokuta Steel Company’s Personnel Costs last year. “To the best of our knowledge, it is what was appropriated that was paid to staff by the Accountant-General of the Federation via 1PPIS,” he said, adding that since July 2012, preceded by a diligent and thorough data capturing exercise, the salaries of ASCL workers are paid directly to respective staff members from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation via the IPPIS.

    Isah said these facts were known to all, adding that after the takeover of the company from the Indians (GHIL/GINL concessionaires) in 2008, ASCL has been on zero capital allocation and an overhead of less than N45million. “All such information is in the public domain and on the website of respective ministries,” he said, adding: “It is common knowledge that any piece of commissioned equipment left idle will sooner than later be lost to rot due to corrosion.”

  • Reinventing the industrialisation wheel

    Reinventing the industrialisation wheel

    The Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI) in collaboration with public sector agencies, is positioning private sector operators to drive the economy. Assistant Editor Chikodi Okereocha reports that the move, which is seen as the most comprehensive and practical approach to boost the employment and wealth creation capacity of small scale enterprises, may be the tonic to turn the economy around in the face of dwindling oil revenue.

    The industrial sector is set for a rebound. The Nigerian Association of  Small Scale Inudstrialists (NASSI), the umbrella association for all small scale enterprises and industries, is leading a campaign to position Micro, Small and Medium and Enterprises (MSMEs) operators to drive the industrialisation process.

    The campaign will see the MSMEs take their pride of place as the engine of growth. The leadership of NASSI under its National President, Chief Chuku Wachuku, is forming some strategic partnerships and alliances with major public sector agencies which mandate verges on promoting the development of MSMEs.

    Some of the agencies include Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Raw Materials Research and development Council (RMRDC), Federal Institute of Industrial Research (FIIRO), National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) as well as development finance institutions such as Bank of Industry (BoI) and Bank of Agriculture (BoA). In fostering such strategic partnerships, the overall objective of NASSI is to position its members to drive the  economy, particularly now that focus is shifting to the non-oil sector in the wake of declining oil prices in the international market.

    Wachuku said: “Anybody who knows the economy of the emerging nations or even developed nations should know that all economies must necessarily depend on MSMEs and the informal sector because it’s the engine of growth.

    “Seventy-five per cent of all new net jobs in the US are created by small and medium enterprises, and in this country Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) contribute 90 to 95 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    “Their only problem is that whereas they contribute this percentage to GDP, the wealth addition stands at only 46 per cent.

    “So, if we could bridge that gap, which is what we are trying to do, we are going to create more wealth in the economy.”

    It was in the bid to bridge this gap, according to Wachuku, that such strategic partnerships became necessary.

    To begin with, NASSI would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SMEDAN soon in training and entrepreneurship.

    He said under the MoU, businesses of members of NASSI would be well-packaged with the collaboration of SMEDAN.

    “We will train you in entrepreneurship and give you the technical knowhow and entrepreneurial skill to become a businessman; how to prepare your own business plan and feasibilities, and also present you to either BoI or BoA, who is also partnering with us,” he explained, adding that the purpose is to ensure that NASSI members transit from being applicants to becoming employers.

    Wachuku noted that because most small scale industries emanate from personal resources and do not have the culture of business, they die within two to three years. The MoU with SMEDAN is therefore, seeking to reverse the trend by adding value to what MSMEs have in form of training and entrepreneurial skills.

    According to him,  this is why a Federal Government agency such as SMEDAN, a ‘one stop shop’ to facilitate the access of micro, small and medium entrepreneurs/investors to all the resources required for their development, becomes very relevant.

    He also expressed optimism that the collaboration with SMEDAN would create more impetus by adding more industries, and with the industries that are there already, encouraging them to sustain themselves and not to die.

    Perhaps, the icing on the cake for small scale industrialists under the renewed drive by NASSI to transform the industrial sector is the plan to establish industrial clusters. Already, the Minister of Science and Technology working through RMRDC and NASSI is powering the emergence of clusters along the agro and industrial value chain. Under the new arrangement, to be perfected next week, RMRDC will be coming out with raw materials-based industrial clusters in every local government area of the country.  On its part, NASENI, which produces prototype equipment and commercialises them through the private sector, will power the clusters using its solar energy plant.

    With hundreds of businesses or entrepreneurs in the 774 local government areas of the country, operators and stakeholders are upbeat over the huge impetus this would create in the industrial sector. For instance, if agric clusters such as rice clusters are established in a state such as Ondo, paddy rice becomes natural raw materials to processing mills and that means you already have off-takers. “That is what I mean by value chain. So, you are going to have raw materials based clusters where it’s only NASSI members who will access them,” he said, adding that ‘we are going to sign MoU with BoA.’

    That is not all. Wachuku also hinted that in a bid to get round the challenge of lack of access to finance, NASSI would, in the next couple of weeks, be shopping for investors so that the association can have its own micro-finance bank in every local government. The association is also considering setting up a credit department to investigate every credit refusal.

    He said: “We will supply you training and all our trainings must be certified by SMEDAN.

    “Once SMEDAN certifies you through the Business Development Service Provider (BDSP) that your business plan is good, if a bank refuses you credit, one of my departments in NASSI will ask why. So we are going to establish in NASSI a monitoring department to ask why a bank refused a NASSI member credit.’’

    NASSI’s move to establish a bank may have been prompted by the failure of its earlier MoU with FirstBank of Nigeria Plc, a development that did not go down well with some members of its state chapters particularly Kano and Rivers. NASSI had in 2012 signed a single-digit credit agreement with FirstBank.

    The loan was to be extended to members of the association who were to contribute a certain amount of money. Non-member small scale enterprise (SME) operators were also encouraged to register with a certain sum to benefit from the scheme. The loan was to be funded from members’ contributions and First Bank’s investment, while a large pool of it was to be realised from participating state governments, who were approached by the banks’ officials and NASSI to buy into the initiative.

    However, the MoU failed to achieve its objective apparently for no fault of First Bank or the leadership of NASSI. Wachuku explained that under the MoU NASSI signed with First Bank, the bank was to provide loans at nine per cent interest rate. The MoU, he said, was to made states assist entrepreneurs who have no access to finance and collateral. The state government will put funds into First Bank, about N500 million minimum. The bank will use the money as collateral and lend to the citizens of that state who are members of NASSI.

    The interest rate was negotiated at nine per cent. But when NASSI got to the states, it found out that they were not willing to back up their own citizens. He said state governments did not put money into the First Bank deal to enable the association commence the programme Hear him: “Kano State Government did not pay that money (N500 million) into First Bank. Rivers State Government did not put one kobo into First Bank. Now some stupid elements using politics thought that if you pay the normal membership fee of N15, 000 or N25, 000 as the case may be, you are now entitled to maybe N5 million.

    How do you pay N15, 000 a year and get N5 million loan? It’s stupid, it’s illiterate, and

    it’s annoyingly unintelligent for anybody to think that because you paid N15, 000 First Bank will give N5 million and you keep bashing the leadership of NASSI.”

    He said that NASSI members in Kano and Rivers State probably did not understand the concept of the First Bank MoU, which was that the bank would give loans to eligible NASSI members at nine per cent interest rate. “How do you expect a deposit money bank with shareholders funds to give you interest of nine per cent instead of their prevailing interest rate of 25 to 30 per cent?” he asked, noting that this was why  the association came up with an idea that each state government will deposit at least half a billion into First Bank. “The point is quite clear: you get your state government to put half a billion, which you didn’t do,” he said.

    However, there is good news for all NASSI members who paid membership fees in the hope of getting the First Bank loan but didn’t. “Members of NASSI who paid for the First Bank loan who didn’t get it, particularly Kano and Rivers, we will waive their membership fee,” Wachuku announced, adding however, that “Becoming a member of NASSI does not guarantee you must get a loan. Your business must be well packaged, you must be eligible to meet the criteria, and the criteria from bank to bank are different, but we are going to create common criteria. That was why I said we are going to ask government to create under SMEDAN a platform to ensure that whatever businesses are packaged, approved and certified by SMEDAN through our own partnership, will not have any problem.”

    To ensure that as many members of NASSI as possible benefit from the ongoing initiative to boost their competitiveness, the National President disclosed plans to float a new membership drive.

    The thinking is that if NASSI is going to present its members to either BoI or BoA or any commercial bank or any of its strategic partners for one form of assistance or the other, it has to have their profiles in its systems so it could track them. “Millions of Nigerians who are natural members will become members of NASSI because there is going to be cross-collateralisation,” he said, noting that the strategy is to have the public sector work in strategic partnership with the private sector.

    As Wachuku puts it: “Government cannot create employment; employment and wealth creation must be private sector-driven.” According to him, NASSI through the partnerships hopes to create five million jobs in the next five years. This may not be an empty claim. Wachuku, a former Director-General of National Directorate of Employment, (NDE), actually initiated the concept of self-employment.’’ NDE has done all these things before.

    No matter what you do, it’s still coming back to the concept of NDE, which is job creation through entrepreneurship, through agriculture, through special public works, and through skills acquisition. So what we need to do now is to forget these old ideas of government and build up capacity in the private sector as represented by NASSI,” he said.

    According to him, NASSI simply means entrepreneurs, business owners, and business owners create employment and wealth. He said NASSI remains the critical platform for Nigeria to use to create employment.

    “We are all over the place and we have mobilised. So NASSI is actually driving a serious system that will translate this to active job creation,” he said.

  • Industrialisation of Akwa Ibom my priority, says Ekere

    Industrialisation of Akwa Ibom my priority, says Ekere

    The immediate past Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Nsima Ekere, has said the massive industrialisation of the state and sustainable people’s development will be his priority if elected governor.

    Ekere spoke after consultations with some Ibibio traditional rulers and the foremost socio-cultural and ethnic nationality groups in Ibibioland and Annangland.

    At each stop, Ekere was prayed for, blessed and given the nod to vie for the governorship ticket of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) by Uyio Ikpaisong Ibibio, which comprises of nine of the 14 Paramount Rulers in Ibibioland, Akwa Esop Imaisong Ibibio and Afe Annang.

    Ekere emphasized his human development plan through a ready-made industrialisation blueprint for the state which, according to him, was designed to build on the massive infrastructure put in place by Governor Godswill Akpabio.

    His words: “Governor Akpabio, my friend and brother, has put in place world-class infrastructure. But we must, as a necessity, begin to build the people.”

    During his visit to Uyio Ikpaisiong Ibibio-in-Council in Etinan, the Uyio Ikpaisong and Paramount Ruler of Etinan Local Government Area, Edidem Ime Dickson Umoette, who led the prayer and blessing session,

    likened Ekere to the Biblical Moses who was ejected from Pharaoh’s palace so that God’s plan in his life could be fulfilled and lauded his industrialisation programme for the state.

    The Paramount Ruler of Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area, Okuku Ime Udousoro Inyang, prayed for Ekere’s success to come soon and advised him to remember the Ibibio race when he becomes governor.

    Ntisong Ibibio III, Obong Essien Ekidem, who leads Akwa Esop Imaisong Ibibio, told Ekere, during a consultation visit to the group in Uyo, that he was impressed by the former Deputy Governor’s wisdom and experience in both the private and public sectors and prayed God to bless him and open doors for him in the gubernatorial race.

    Otuekong Sunny Jackson Udoh and Chief Ukata Akpan, who also spoke for the group, lauded Mr.Ekere’s qualities and called for free and fair PDP primaries.

    Itai Afe Annang III, Okuku Pius Effiong Eside IV, who also received Ekere and his mammoth team of elders, youths and women in Essien Udim, said Annang people were willing to stand by him as a knowledgeable man capable of building on Governor Godswill Akpabio’s achievements and legacy.

    He praised Ekere for not disrespecting the person and office of governor despite his resignation, nearly two years ago, and reasoned that the former Deputy Governor’s exit was divine as God had a better plan for him.

  • BoI seeks new funding windows to drive industrialisation

    BoI seeks new funding windows to drive industrialisation

    The Bank of Industry (BoI) said it will seek additional funding sources so as to make sufficient impact in line with the Federal Government’s industrialisation effort.

    Its Managing Director, Rasheed Olaoluwa, who spoke over the weekend, said the bank, in alignment with the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP), will direct its funding  to support agro-allied industries, oil and gas, energy , solid minerals and manufacturing.

    He said: “Although we are confident that our key shareholders , that is Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MoFI) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), will continue to support us with some equity injection. We take cognizance of the fact that there is a lot of demand on government’s resources.”

    Olaoluwa said all hands must be on deck towards ensuring that BoI strengthens its operations for global competitiveness and be at par with some of the world’s leading development finance institutions.

    He stated that the task of increasing the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) cannot be achieved by the bank alone.

    According to the CEO, for the bank to effectively deliver on its mandate, the institution will have to work closely with other relevant stakeholders towards addressing the non-financial issues facing the manufacturing sector and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

    Olaoluwa said the bank is developing strategies to improve stakeholders’ access to funds.

    He said: “BoI is trying to achieve a balance in its functions as a development finance institution in terms of delivering social impact and maintaining a sustainable loan infrastructure.

    “Although we are confident that key shareholders in the NIRP initiative Ministry of Finance Incorporated and the CBN, will continue to support the bank with some equity injection, considering the fact that there is a lot of demand on government’s resources.

    “Consequently we are exploring alternative modes of funding such as continuation of sector specific intervention funds by the CBN, Ministry of Agriculture, Solid Minerals and others; managed funds from various state governments and foundations; long-term loans at very low interest rates from multi-lateral/international development institutions.”

    He further said BoI will explore domestic and international bond issuance and other sustainable annuity sources that may become statutorily imperative in the medium to long term.

    According to him,  in pursuance of the success of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda, a major focal point of the bank was to help promote employment generation and wealth creation through access to development funds.

    “We have met with Business Support Firms (BSFs) to address the large percentage of substandard loan applications as we have discovered that a good way out is to engage with BSFs who will receive the applications and help review them as they better understand how a bankable proposal should look like,” he said.

    He said the SMEs sector will receive adequate attention from the development bank and their funding challenges addressed not through talk but with concrete and visible steps.

    “As you are aware, our Minsiter of Industry Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, is leading the efforts to industrialise Nigeria and to create millions of jobs in the process. At BoI, we’re passionate about these objectives,” he said.

    He said he had also met and discussed with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina on issues relating to the various agricultural development funds managed by BoI as part of the minister’s efforts to transform the agricultural sector.

  • Industrialisation, key to Ekiti development-Aluko

    Industrialisation, key to Ekiti development-Aluko

    A governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Senator Gbenga Aluko, has restated that industrialisation is the key to the economic development of Ekiti State.

    In a statement in Ado Ekiti, Aluko, who is the son of the late prominent economist, Prof Sam Aluko, said sustainable development of the state could not be achieved by monthly dependence on federal allocation.

    According to him, what a serious administration should do is to develop the resources of the people in such a way as to gainfully employ the youths. This he said could be done by establishing at least a factory in each of the local government areas in the state.

    Citing the example of his billion naira factory, which he established in Ode Ekiti, Gbonyin Local Government Area of the state, Aluko promised that if voted to power, he would ensure that he established one factory in each local government area of the state.

    Regretting that the only factories found in Ekiti State were water packaging companies and bakeries, Aluko, while applauding the strides the state had made in the field of education, stated that education should, however not be seen as an end in itself, but a means to an end, which is to liberate the people from the shackles of poverty and want.