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Tag: industries

  • ‘Textile industries ‘ll be resuscitated’

    The Kaduna State Governor, Nasiru el-Rufai, has  said that his administration’s resolve to revive the ailing textile industries was irrevocable.

    He said this at the opening of the 27th Annual National Education Conference of National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) in Kaduna.

    The three-day conference had as its theme: “Buhari’s Administration: Revival of Textile Industry and Creation of Mass Decent Jobs.” The governor said it was regrettable that the textile industries which used to employ tens of thousands in the state could now only employ about 1,500 employees. ‘’This is unfortunate and must be addressed’’, he said.

    Commending the Federal Government’s commitment to revive the textile industries in the country, he assured the textile workers that his government would ensure that the textile industries were fully resuscitated to their former status.

    Meanwhile, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo, noted that the commitment displayed by President Muhammadu Buhari to revive the industries is commendable. According to him, the move would create thousands of jobs for the youth. “We are hopeful on President Buhari because of his shown committment to the revival of the textile industries,’’ he said.

    The governor called on the textile workers to give President Buhari full support in the effort to revive the textile industry.

    The NUTGTWN Secretary General, Issa Aremu, disclosed that a total of 101,700 of textile industries factories had closed shops in the country, noting that past governments did nothing to revive the industry.”It is commendable that Buhari’s administration named textile revival explicitly in his campaign promise.

  • Industries urged on Research, Development

    Industries that are the end users of research results must take interest in the generation of knowledge, former Director-General, National Office of Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Prof. Umar Bindir, has said.

    Bindir made this remark in Abuja during the week while delivering a keynote address on the occasion of the inauguration of the NOTAP-Industry Technology Transfer Fellowship.

    Bindir, who is currently the Secretary, Adamawa State Government, explained that industries must contribute to the generation of relevant knowledge to engender technological development.

    According to him, industries that are the end users of research results must take interest in the generation of knowledge from tertiary institutions and on the proper application of research results.

    “We discover that there is a wide gap between the academia and the industries and in filling this gap, the fellowship is initiated so that industries will take a keen interest in the technological development in the country.

    “Nigeria must emerge as knowledge and learning society built on values; everywhere, universities are sustained and their research results are utilised for technological development. The way forward is for us to commit ourselves and understand that our knowledge institutions must work for Nigeria and their outputs and inputs must be measured,” he said.

    The NOTAP chief noted that Nigeria is not challenging her institutions very well to ensure that they work on problems that are peculiar to the country. “These three aspects must be done in this frame work of change so that we can to tackle our food problems, our water problems, infrastructure problems, and many others,’’ he said.

    Bindir stressed that Nigeria cannot solve these problems by using the same kind of thinking used when it created the problems. “We need to be strategic in solving these problems and the fellowship scheme is one intervention that we belief will proffer the solution that will solve our technological problems,’’ he said.

  • How industries can boost agric value chain

    How industries can boost agric value chain

    Nigeria spends about N1.3 trillion yearly on food import. But a rethink in favour of using the industrial sector to enhance the agricultural value chain through private sector-led strategy holds promises of reversing the trend. Asst. Editor, OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE writes that the strategy, which encourages the involement of industries in storage, processing and export of agricultural raw materials to create jobs, enjoys the support of experts as well as the new administration of Muhammadu Buhari.

    Efforts at making agriculture more productive, efficient and competitive are on course. This time, the strategy is to find a way of riding on the back of the industrial sector to further enhacethe agricultural value chain. Essentially, the new rethink is in favour of encouraging  industries to be involved in areas such as storage, processing, and export of finished agric produce to create more jobs for Nigerians.

    To this end, experts and stakeholders in the agric and industrial sector are canvassing private sector-led strategy to boost the agric sector and make it a cash-cow for Nigeria. In doing so, they noted, for instance, that Nigeria has huge agricultural potential with over 84 million hectares of arable land, of which only 40 per cent is cultivated. Also, Nigeria’s estimated population of 170 million makes her Africa’s largest market. Besides, the country has some of the richest natural resources. Regrettably, the country has so far failed to properly harness these opportunities and derive benefits there from.

    However, a new dawn may be in the offing for the sector following renewed emphasis on private sector-led involvement in the agricultural value chain. The strategy is intended   to make  agriculture more productive, efficient and competitive through  improved food production for domestic food supply. It is also hoped that the strategy, which already enjoys the support of President Muhammadu Buhari, would help create more jobs along the agricultural value chain.

    At the 55th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), in Calabar, Cross River State, recently, Buhari said agriculture must cease from being treated as a development programme but as a business.

    The President said the urgency of unlocking Africa’s agricultural potential is pertinent because Africa spends $35 billion yearly on food import, with Nigeria taking the lion share. The development, he said, boosts the economies of countries and continents where such food items are imported from, leaving African economies depleted. “Africa has no business being a food importing region. With over 65 per cent of the arable land left to feed the expected nine billion people in the world by 2050, Africa should become a net exporter of food,” he said, adding that the size of the agriculture and agri-business sector in Africa is expected to grow to $1trillion by 2030.

    He projected that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in agriculture in Africa will increase from $10billion in 2015 to $45billion in 2020.

    “To unlock this potential, we need to direct resources, both public and private, to agriculture, the sector which employs close to 80 per cent of Africans and accounts for about 40 per cent of the continent’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” he said.

    The president, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Alhaji Baba Umar Farouk, noted that a nation that does not feed itself becomes a threat to its sovereign existence.

    “Growing our own food, processing what we produce, becoming competitive in export markets, and creating jobs all across economy, are crucial for our national security,” he stated.

    The President added that as the nation drives a private sector-led agricultural transformation, government is also paying close attention to potential challenges, such as inequality and impact on small holders.

    According to him, there is need to embrace growth and make it work for farmers and rural communities.

    Hear him: “Agri-business, with their huge market pool and demand for raw materials for their factories can unlock the much needed market opportunities that have eluded farmers and expand jobs so crucial for the rising youth population in the rural areas as we have a policy that allows agri-businesses to have secure access to land, working closely with states, local government and communities. Such arrangements allow for transfer of technology, development of infrastructure, creation of market facilities, while unlocking shared prosperity between small holders and large commercial farmers.”

    Buhari regretted the ugly turn of events where Nigeria grew from being a major player in the global agricultural market in the past as the world’s largest producer of groundnuts and palm oil in the 1960’s, and the second largest producer of cocoa before the emergence of oil in the 1960’s to the current level she cannot boast of anything. “Today, seven of the 10 fastest growing economies of the world are in Africa.

    But there exists a paradox. The growth is not inclusive, as hundreds of millions only hear about the growth numbers, but feel alienated from the growth process. Africa’s rural economies habour the greatest share of those being left behind or excluded,” he said.

    He, therefore, said there is need for a new growth model in Africa, one that will stimulate shared prosperity, create jobs for millions of rural youth and unlock the huge sleeping potentials of Africa’s vast agricultural lands. He urged experts in the field to come up with recommendations for the government.

    Acting National President, NACCIMA, Chief Bassey Edem, called for enhanced productive economic activities that would bring about growth and development, improved GDP and by implication, enhance the nation’s domestic and foreign exchange earnings as well as more clout for the country in the comity of nations.

    He also called for a sustained growth and development in all areas of the economy where everyone would have equal opportunity to contribute his quota, and where justice and equity will reign.

    Edem assured of NACCIMA’s support, encouraging his members to ensure that they continued to partner the government and other private sector stakeholders with genuine intention to move the economy forward to build a virile nation on the part of sustainable growth and development.

    He said the theme of this year’s conference, ‘Policy consistency in agricultural value chain: A key to social economic development’ came at the right time considering the state of the  economy in particular and the global economy in general. He was referring to dwindling crude oil prices in the international market.

    He harped on the need to look inwards and go back to the basics to appreciate the importance of agriculture in the socio-economic development of the nation.

    “The business community is facing serious challenges. In order to ease these problems and to chart a course for the nation’s sustainable growth and development, we make a clarion call on the various tiers of governments especially now that we have a new democratic regime in place to create conducive environment that will make the economy a private sector driven one.  This is a sure way of making our country a prosperous nation that we all will be proud of,” he noted.

    Executive Director Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), Dr Yemi Akinbamijo, who was guest speaker at the event, said Nigeria spends much of its foreign exchange to import food items.

    He called for Public-Private Participation (PPP) to leverage on economic transformation of the agricultural sector. He also made a case for innovations in small scale holders regarding harvesting, processing and access to markets.

    “It will take three things to move the agricultural sector forward. We need to enhance science, research technologies that improve production of the small holder. There is a need to leverage ICT to improve risk management through effective and efficient market linkages, enhance preservation of nutrient quality,” he said, adding that there was also the need to expand entrepreneurship of groups of women and youth, improve productivity via access to improved seeds, fertiliser, water management techniques and equipment financing.

  • Textile workers urge Buhari to reactivate industries

    Textile workers urge Buhari to reactivate industries

    National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN) has urged the president-elect, Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) to prioritise the rejuvenation of comatose textile industries in the country when he takes over the affairs of the nation.

    Speaking with reporters yesterday in Kaduna, its  Secretary –General, Comrade Issa Aremu reminded Gen Buhari that it was part of his campaign promises toresuscitate dead textile industries across the country if voted into power.

    Aremu also tasked the president-elect to ensure that smuggling and counterfeiting of textile materials into the country were halted, adding that if such socio-economic activities were allowed to thrive, it would rub on his good image.

    He said: “We were encouraged during Gen Buhari’s campaign that he has resolved to revive textile and garment industry as part of his party’s overall strategy to re-industrialise the county and create mass employment for the millions of unemployed.

    “We recall that in the 70s and up to early 80s, (when General Buhari and his patriotic team were in power) Nigeria was the largest producer of different range of textile, garment and carpet products surpassed in production only by Egypt and South Africa. We are willing to partner with his administration to reinvent this sector which has propelled newly industrialised countries in recent times such as China, India, Balgadesh and Indonesia among others.

    He said: “Twenty-six out of the 36 states grow cotton of both long and short stable lengths; in addition as an oil-producing country, Nigeria boasts of a large polyester base.

    “Combined with the 170 million population rich in fashion and clothing and huge labour force of some 70 million potential workers, Nigeria has the potential of producing 1.2 billion meters of cloth per annum. When we factor the ECOWAS (economic Community of West African States) sub-regional market, Nigeria is a natural textile destination point in the world.

    “The major threat to the realisation of the great potential of Nigeria in textile production is high influx of counterfeit and smuggled goods. The real acid test of Gen Buhari’s incoming administration’s anti-corruption is how he frontally fight smuggling.

    “Over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s huge market size is dominated by smuggled and counterfeit goods, killing local companies in Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, Guzau, Aba and Port Harcourt, and millions of direct and indirect associated local jobs. In addition smuggling denies the government the much needed revenue in unpaid custom duties. While private sector is the engine of growth, it is the government that must “oil” this engine, failing which it will crash as it has with the textile industry.”

    He said all nations want to employ their youths, produce goods and services, overcome poverty and underdevelopment. To this extent, he said every nation protects its own industry, whether the industry is in ‘infancy’ or ‘adult-hood’adding that Nigeria cannot be different under Gen Buhari’s administration which has commendably raised expectations to fight unemployment and grow the economy.

  • MAN, company move to revitalise ailing industries

    Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) and Kano State chapter of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) have agreed to ensure the revitalisation of ailing industries.

    Leaders of the two organisations are hoping to achieve this feat through a five-year tariff path and a comprehensive technical investment framework towards service improvement.

    The Managing Director of KEDCO, Dr. Jamil Gwamna, made this known when he addressed reporters during a visit to customers of the distribution company to discuss with them for better business relationship and quality service delivery.

    Gwamna, who was accompanied by the management team of KEDCO, including heads of department and heads of units, visited the Sharada industrial layout as well as the Dakata and Bompai industrial areas where he engaged captains of industries and commerce in a bid to achieve customer intimacy.

    ano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) and Kano State chapter of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) have agreed to ensure the revitalisation of ailing industries.

    Leaders of the two organisations are hoping to achieve this feat through a five-year tariff path and a comprehensive technical investment framework towards service improvement.

    The Managing Director of KEDCO, Dr. Jamil Gwamna, made this known when he addressed reporters during a visit to customers of the distribution company to discuss with them for better business relationship and quality service delivery.

    Gwamna, who was accompanied by the management team of KEDCO, including heads of department and heads of units, visited the Sharada industrial layout as well as the Dakata and Bompai industrial areas where he engaged captains of industries and commerce in a bid to achieve customer intimacy.

  • ‘Ailing industries to be revitalised’

    Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) and   Kano State chapter of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), yesterday agreed to ensure the revitalisation of ailing industries.

    Leaders of the two organisations are hoping to achieve this feat through a five-year tariff path and a comprehensive technical investment framework towards service improvement.

    The Managing Director of KEDCO, Dr. Jamil Gwamna, addressed reporters when he visited customers of the distribution company.

    Gwamna, who was accompanied by the management team of KEDCO, including the heads of department and  heads of units, visited the Sharada industrial layout and Dakata and Bompai industrial areas, where he interacted with captains of industries and commerce.

    Some of the companies visited included Spanish Engineering, Dala Foods, Holborn, Hassan Plastics, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc and Rumbu Group of Industries. Others were BAGCO Super sacks, S, Rhoda, Angel Spinning and Dying Company, Gongoni Nigeria Limited and AMMASCO Oil Lubricants.

    Dr. Gwamna noted that, “electricity forms a significant portion of the operational expenses of the manufacturing industries and therefore it was necessary to come and hear from the valued customers directly on how better to serve them and to cement and consolidate the existing cordial relationship with the companies which pay the bulk of the revenue being generated by KEDCO.

    “Most of the issues raised by the industries centered directly on the new tariff structure tagged MYTO2.1 which took effect from Janaury 1st 2015. The new tariff regime effectively hiked the price per unit across the board by different percentages and affected all but one class of customers which is R1 (Lifeline customers making up the urban poor and the rural dwellers),” Gwamna told reporters.

    He further stated that, “with reference to the D1 I , D2 I and D3 I, the fixed charge was N 867,000 with N 28.59 as cost of unit consumed , while N 139,512  with N37.14 and N 141,794.66 and N 37.14kobo the new tariff for the D2 and D3 categories in Kano Disco  respectively.”

    According to him, “there is a variation with all the DISCOs as the tariff structure was not the same across the nation. This became a bone of contention and the manufacturers have called for a reversal to the old tariff regime.

    He said other issues discussed were the low voltage level although the customers have acknowledged a sharp improvement in service delivery since the coming of KEDCO in November 2013, “others were the need to improve on the communication between the parties especially prior to outages and to reduce the down time to the shortest possible time whenever faults have occurred.”

    On the new tariff structure, Dr Gwamna explained that a cost-reflective tariff structure was necessary in order to allow the investors to make reasonable gain from the business but agreed that any new tariff should be fair, affordable and gradual.

    He, however, promised that KEDCO will work with the customers towards working out a tariff path that will allow for investment planning covering the next five years.

    He then directed the Technical Services as well as the Customer Relation departments to ensure that communication on KEDCO operations are prompt and that downtime should not exceed 60 minutes going forward.

     

     

     

     

  • APC campaign: Jonathan’s harsh tax policies killing industries

    APC campaign: Jonathan’s harsh tax policies killing industries

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Organisation (APCPCO) has said the harsh tax regime and high electricity tariff under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government are forcing many industries to close shop.

    The APC campaign assured Nigerians that the party would not impose any harsh tax regime on Nigerians, but would rather employ existing tax policies of government to fund its people-oriented programmes.

    Director of Media and Publicity of the APC Campaign Organisation, Mallam Garba Shehu, said in a statement in Abuja that under the President Goodluck Jonathan administration, the people and the business community were reeling under multiple, discriminatory and harsh tax regime.

    He said: “The prevailing harsh tax regime under the PDP government has caused untold hardship on the population while manufacturing industries are threatening to shut down their operations because of the high electricity tariff imposed on them when they depend largely on generating sets to power their factories.

    “An APC administration will make life more bearable and manageable for both the citizens and the business sector by entrenching discipline in public administration across all sectors of governance.

    “Second, the party will plug all loopholes through which public funds are being lost. When these loopholes and accompanying wastages are plugged and corruption reduced to a minimum or totally stamped out as promised by our presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, the government will have reasonable quantum of funds for social investments programmes in education, health, and safety nets such as free school meals for children, emergency public works for unemployed youths and pensions for the elderly.

    “Third, an APC government will seek to ensure that all existing laws and policies on taxation will be implemented judiciously while tax authorities and administrators will be encouraged to do their work with the utmost transparency.

    “The PDP is obviously scared of the credible alternative, which the APC represents and will go to any length to lie to Nigerians on any issue, including those on which the APC has not expressed a position. The majority of Nigerians are looking forward eagerly to the advent of an APC administration as a panacea to the deceit and fraud that has characterised the administration of the PDP in the last 16 years.

    “In view of the mood of the nation and the glaring cases of stealing, corruption, fraud and looting that is the character of the administration, we advise the PDP spokesperson to save his breath and make the burden of change and power transfer lighter by advising his party and their government functionaries to start preparing hand-over notes”.

  • From vibrant textile industries to ghost towns

    From vibrant textile industries to ghost towns

    In the past, textile companies were major employers of labour. All efforts to revive the ailing sectors have tried but yet to achieve the desired results, making many wonder if the good old days will ever return, writes Ibrahim Mammaga

    Industrialists note that Nigeria had one of the best textile industries in the world with more than 180 functional factories in the early 1980s.

    They recall that the textile industry in Nigeria then was vibrant and it used to be the second largest in Africa, after Egypt, providing more than 800,000 direct and five million indirect jobs for Nigerians.

    They observe that at that time, multi-purpose textile machines such as shuttles, knitting, spindles, among others, improved productivity in the textile sector and ensured good quality of products.

    Mr Oladele Hunsu, the President, Nigeria Union of Textile and Garment Workers of Nigeria (NUTGWN), said that textile factories such as United Nigerian Textile Ltd., Aswani Textile Mill, Afprint Plc, Asaba Textile Mill, Edo Textile Mill, among others, were the pride of the sector at that moment.

    Analysts, however, note that the fortunes of the sector began to dwindle in 1994 due to political crises and the lack of political will to implement some policies which could enhance productivity in the sector.

    They opine that the situation was worsened by lifting of the ban on importation of textile goods in 1997, massive smuggling of foreign textile products into the country and increased taxes and levies imposed on the industries.

    They observe further that these developments led to the closure of various textile industries, including Afprint Plc, Aba Textile Mill, Asaba Textile Mill, Specomill, Unitex, Supertex, Royal Spinners, NTM and Oodua Textile Mill.

    The analysts recall that the popular Aswani Textile Mill was forced to transmute into Chellarams Plc — dealing in nylon and bicycles — while Afprint Plc in Lagos became Kewalram Nigeria Ltd. and started selling cars.

    Statistics from the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN) indicate that as of 2007, not more than 30 textile industries across the country were functioning with less than 30,000 workers.

    The statistics also reveal that the nine textile mills in Kaduna were closed down by the end of 2007and their workers were thrown into the labour market.

    Expressing concern about the situation, the members of NUTGWN recently raised alarm that the closure of the industries had compelled many of the big players in the industry to change their businesses.

    Lending credence to this, statistics from MAN state that the capacity utilisation profile of the nation’s textile industry has declined by 9.5 per cent between 2011 and 2013.

    The statistics state that “the capacity utilisation dipped  to 50.8 per cent in 2012 from 54.5 per cent recorded in 2011, in spite of the Federal Government’s N100 billion intervention funds to the sector.

    “Also, the sector’s capacity utilisation further dropped to 44.9 per cent in 2013, indicating a cumulative depreciation of 9.5 per cent during the period.’’

    Describing the trend as worrisome, NUTGWN admits that although the Federal Government has made several efforts at revamping the sector, multiple interventions are needed to fully revitalise the sector.

    Hunsu, the president of the association, therefore, urged the concerned authorities to implement existing economic policies, aimed at guarding against smuggling of foreign fabrics into the country.

    He said the nation incurred an annual loss of N75 billion due to the smuggling of textile products into the country, insisting that smuggled products accounted for 90 per cent of the textile products in the Nigerian market.

    According to him, although the Federal Government has made concerted efforts to revive the industry through the N100 Cotton and Textile Intervention Fund in 2009, few companies have been able to access the funds.

    Beyond the intervention, Mr Olanrewaju Jaiyeola, the President, National Textile Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (NTMAN), urged the Federal Government to adopt a protectionist policy for the textile sector so as to provoke its revival.

    He said the lack of funds was not the only problem plaguing the textile industry, insisting that a well-implemented, manufacturers-friendly policy would turn the sector around.

    Sharing similar sentiments, Dr John Osemede, the Director-General, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), solicited a proactive measure to guard against the importation of textile products.

    Alhaji Ali Madugu, the National Vice President of MAN, corroborated his view, insisting that the major challenges facing the industry were importation of foreign fabrics to the country and smuggling of Nigerian textile products to other countries.

    In his view, Alhaji Aliyu Bello, the Company Secretary of Funtua Textile Ltd., one of the few surviving textile factories in Nigeria, said that multiple taxations by the federal, state and local governments were some of the challenges facing the sector.

    However, Mr Bimbo Ashiru, the Commissioner for Commerce in Ogun, attributed the closure of the two textile mills in the state to lack of funds and importation of foreign fabrics.

    He said  bthe mills — Shokas Lace Factory in Ijebu-Igbo and Austro Embroidery Mill in Aiyepe — could not easily source for foreign exchange to import some of the needed materials from Austria before their closure more than a decade ago.

    Ashiru said attempt by the firms to bring the prices of their products down affected the quality of the products, adding this, therefore, affected the people’s patronage of the products.

    “The cost of importing materials for production was unfortunately on the high side, compared to the prices of imported textile materials,’’ he added.

    Irrespective of the myriad challenges facing the sector, Mr Andy Edobor, the President, Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture in Edo, underscored the need to initiate pragmatic efforts to revive the textile industry, as part of the country’s economic diversification plans.

    All the same, Mr Navdeep Sodhi, a textile consultant, stressed that Nigeria would need a minimum of N205 billion to revamp the sector.

    Sodhi, the Managing Consultant of Gherzi Sub-Sahara, an international textile consulting firm, said that with this amount, the local textile industry would be able to capture more than 40 per cent of the Nigerian market by 2015.

    “Today, the market share of the industry is only 15 per cent because of the poor state of the sector. The key issue for the industry was the lack of funds; if you are looking for money, it is not just there,’’ he said.

    Sodhi said the government’s intervention was just to subsidise interest rates on loans or compensate for the interest rates so that the cost of obtaining the funds would not be too cumbersome.

    Nevertheless, stakeholders believe that any effort to revive the textile industry will somewhat be futile unless there is an improvement in the power situation in the country, while bank loans become accessible to entrepreneurs at a low interest rate.

    Besides, the stakeholders call on the government to curtail the smuggling of foreign fabrics, improve the patronage of local materials and sensitise the citizens to the importance of patronising locally produced fabrics.

    Above all, they underscore the need for the government to demonstrate the political will to implement sound policies which can provoke the revival of textile plants and ensure the sustainable growth of the textile sector.

    •Mammaga is of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

  • Abia govt to resuscitate ailing industries

    Abia govt to resuscitate ailing industries

    A wind of change is sweeping across the industrial landscape of Abia State, Southeast Nigeria. This is coming on the wings of an aggressive industrial revolution programme embarked upon by the state government under Governor Theodore Orji. The programme, The Nation learnt, has already raised hopes of possible rebound of most of the moribund flagship industries that once epitomised the entrepreneurial and can-do spirit of indigenes of the state.

    Already, most residents of the state, described as ‘God’s own State,’ are upbeat over the return of flagship industries such as Modern Ceramics, Golden Guinea Brewery, (both in Umuahia, the state capital), as well as Aba Glass Industry. For instance, repair work have since started at Golden Guinea Breweries. The exercise would see the company’s obsolete machines replaced with new ones imported from Germany. This was sequel to the setting up of a committee by the state government to revive the abandoned firms.

    According to the governor, government set up the committee following its discovery that the company, which was earlier said to have been sold to a private company was not actually sold to anybody. He said the new committee is already discussing with the management of the breweries with a view to finding a lasting solution to the problems of the company established by the administration of Dr Michael Okpara as premier of the defunct Eastern Region in 1960.

    In its heyday, Golden Guinea Breweries was the toast of the beer industry in the country. The company offered thousands of employment to indigenes of Abia State  in particular and Nigerians in general, until it was abandoned by previous governments. Then the company was engaged in the brewing, bottling and marketing of Golden Guinea lager beer and Eagle Stout, as well as producing and marketing Bergedorf premium Lager beer and Bergedorf Malta under a franchise from Holsten Brauerei AG of Hamburg.

    Governor Orji, The Nation leant, had earlier promised to revive the breweries during his first term in office as one of the avenues to provide jobs to the people, but the promise was not fulfilled because, according to him, government was not told the truth about the actual problems of the company. As he explained: “What happened was that when the company had financial problem, it was bailed out by the people now occupying the place because the management of the brewery was unable to re-repay the loan, warranting the new management to take over the place although they could not move the company forward.

    “It has been a problem to us. It is time for me to tell the people the real truth about Golden Guinea Breweries. Golden Guinea had a problem before I came on board, but nobody told me. I was misinformed that the place was bought. I looked for the person who supposedly bought it and encouraged him to revive it.”

    The governor further explained that the supposed buyer went to Germany and brought investors, but it was later discovered that the man was playing games. “However, the General Manager explained that the man rescued them when they were in financial crisis, but the man now claims to have bought it. That was why the German investors ran away,” he said, adding, “We want to sort it out, we have put up a committee to look into the problem and advise the government. That was the problem we had, otherwise we would have gone far with the project.”

    Modern Ceramics Industries Limited in Umuahia is also staging a come back, courtesy of the state government’s industrial revival programme. After 14 years of inaction, the flagship firm, the first in Africa, has been handed over to a private firm, UCL Resources & Investment  Limited, to reposition it. This followed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the new core investor in the project and the state government for the reactivation of the state-owned ceramics company. Abia State Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Technology, Chief Otuu Irunkwu signed on behalf of the government, while Reverend Father Mike Okoronkwo, Managing Director of UCL Ltd, signed for the company.

    The foreign partners of the core investors visited the company recently and accepted to invest $120 million to resuscitate the company, which stopped production in 1996 following a major breakdown in the company. Although, the signing ceremony was done during the administration of former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, Government Theodore Orji has renewed the commitment of his administration to breath life into the company.The firm, when fully operational, will employ about 1,000 people directly while proving thousands of jobs indirectly. The governor said the company now has the required expertise  and financial wherewithal courtesy of the private sector buy-in to help turn around the fortunes of the state’s economy.

    He said his government is focused on the industrialisation of the state through the promotion of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. He said the revival of the Aba Glass industries boasts robust employment possibilities that will take the youth off the streets. “Our goal is to build at least one operational industry in each of the 17 local government areas of our State, with a major focus on agricultural services, food packaging, energy production, and hospitality industries. While we also intend to recover old and ailing industries in our state, it is our goal to expand and develop new cities beyond Aba and Umuahia through industrialisation and creation of new markets, the Governor said.

    The state’s power sector is also set to experience a major boost following the recent invitation of a Chinese trade and investment company, JMET Corporation, which has indicated its willingness to invest in the power sector in Abia. This was to aid the industrialisation process. According to the National Coordinator/Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria-China Business Council (NCBC), Chief Matthew Uwaekwe, the corporation, a subsidiary of Jiangsu Sainty International Group, would build and operate industrial power projects of various capacities to serve the emerging industrial clusters in the state.

    He also said the corporation would embark on the manufacturing of pre-paid meters and recharge cards, and also invest in recreation parks. Other areas of investment, he disclosed, include exploration of oil and gas potential in the state, and development of estate for mass housing. Uwaekwe gave the assurance that the group would bankroll any selected investment in the state. “The Chinese group will provide full and adequate finance for suitable, consequential and people-friendly projects in Abia,’’ he said.

    During the visit of the Chinese businessmen, the leader of the team, Mr. Juan Qiangjing, praised the governor for the rapid transformation going on in the state, promising that Chinese investors would take advantage of the prevailing friendly atmosphere in Abia to invest in the area.

    The state government is also  involved in providing support to the Geometric Power Incorporated and the National Integrated Power Project of the Federal Government, located in Ala-Oji, so that they can achieve their projected dateline to deliver un-interrupted 24 hours power supply to Abia State and its environs.

    When this happens, “many of our Small and Medium Scale Industries in the state will grow and create jobs. It will also boost our plan to build an Industrial Park in Aba City, to encourage the pulling together of resources, to support the sagging entrepreneurship of Aba-made goods, and their return to international fame,” Governor Orji said.

  • Women engineers lament dearth of industries

    Women engineers lament dearth of industries

    Women engineers under the aegis of the Association of Professional Women Engineers of Nigeria, (APWEN), have described as unfortunate the fact that the nation’s industrial growth is on the decline.

    Making this submission on their behalf was the president of the association, Engr. Olayinka Abdul.

    According to her, the downturn of industrial development in the country leaves nothing to cheer about.

    The APWEN President disclosed this during the National Conference/AGM 2013, with the theme, ‘Economic Development through Engineering in Manufacturing and Production’ in Abuja, stating that a nation’s total wealth increases through industrial development.

    She said, “The nation is consuming products produced from other economies while most factories and warehouses in our economy are closing and being taken over by religious organisation and many more relocating to neighbouring countries.

    “The engineers who should be properly engaged and making a meaningful living are out on the street neck deep in commercial businesses.”