At $120m potato plant launch, El-Rufai, Emefiele stress diversification
Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele. / AFP PHOTO / PHILIP OJISUA
Consistent with the diversification agenda of the current administration, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and his Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), counterpart, Governor Godwin Emefiele, at the weekend performed the ground-breaking for the $120 million Vicampro potato farm and processing facility in Manchok, Kaura Local Council of the state.
The biggest potato plant in sub-Sahara Africa is to cover 10,000 hectares of land and generates 30,000 jobs for the youths.El-Rufai said the executive and legislative arms of government partnered to birth the Kaduna State Investment Promotion Agency (KADIPA) in a bid to up the state to investments and industrialisation.
According to him, the project, at completion, will not only supply the local demand, but also, “60 per cent of the French fries to be processed will be for markets outside the country.”
“We want businesses to feel safe bringing their investments to Kaduna State. That is why we organised the Kaduna Economic Summit (KADInvest) between April 6 and 7, 2016, to showcase the numerous opportunities and potentials of the state and how ready Kaduna is for investment.
“Today, Kaduna is becoming a much easier place to do business and our efforts have already started yielding positive results. We have Olam of Singapore investing $150 million to build the largest integrated poultry and feeed mill in Nigeria. Similarly, Dangote Group is investing in a 7000-hectare tomato farm and a processing plant in the state,” he added.
El-Rufai noted that: “Through this Public-Private-Partnership, thousands of direct and indirect jobs will be created to reduce the high rate of unemployment and roll back poverty.”
Emefiele lamented the drop in oil prices, which he stressed, had drastically affected the country’s economy, pointing out that “there is, therefore, need for diversification as the only alternative and what Kaduna State is doing today is what we want at this moment.”
Related
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
7 Comments
Well, Kaduna state seems to be on the right track!!
GOOD MOVE, DIVERSIFICATION IS NECESSARY AND THIS IS AN EXAMPLE
Cheering news. Take note Avengers, do something positive!
Are you now convinced that this is not a National Recession but an Economic warfare? You frustrate some sectors of the system to favour Hausa/fulani? Is this how tossustain democracy in Nigeria? The Senate has failed in Nigeria.
Every society is a dynamic equilibrium of so many professions. It is very shameful that our central bank governor as thrown away his sense of professionalism because of his greed for sudden wealth. Is he saying that his moves now will solve anything. There is no problem in Nigeria, if there is any, it is Godwin Emefiele. If indeed the man has integrity, the first thing he would do is to provide nuclear power for cheap electric supply to industrial ize the country. Not to go and devalue all the borrowed money which we are saving in the bank to pay for tools. Is it SANE FOR A CBN GOVERNOR TO TELL OTHER PROFESSIONALS TO ABANDON THEIR CALLING AND GO TO Farm?
Every body knows that things done in GREAT HASTE GENERATE GREAT WASTE, WHAT HE HAS SUCCEEDED IN DOING IS TO CREATE GREAT AVENUES FOR HIMSELF AND HIS FRIENDS TO EMBEZZLE OUR CRUDE OIL MONEY IN A SERIOUS HASTE. IS GOD STILL IN HEAVEN?
If there was a way you could earn
one penny on every game of Madden™,
FIFA™ Pro, Angry Birds™, or Candy
Crush™ played each year, would you
want to know about it? (It may seem
impossible, but 1.2 billion games of
Candy Crush is played every day!
Smartphone games are a $110 BILLION
industry!)
United Games is offering you and me an
opportunity to capitalize massively on
the immense smartphone game
explosion.
To learn more.. Follow the link
vippresentation.com/2game
We will review and take appropriate action.