• Wike decries politics of under-development by politicians from state

From Chris Anucha and Tony John, Port Harcourt

ACTING President Yemi Osinbajo has lauded the private sector and restated the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s commitment to the success of the sector.

Osinbajo stated this yesterday when he commissioned $1.5 billion fertilizer plant, built by Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.   

The acting president, who arrived Port Harcourt International Airport at about 10.27am, was received by Governor Nyesom Wike and later driven to the venue of the event, in company with the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike  Amaechi and Senator Magnus Abe.

Speaking on the occasion, Osinbajo said it was Federal Government’s commitment to the development of the private sector that informed its  focus on improving the business environment.

“Last year, President Buhari established a Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), whose results are now starting to be felt across the country. The kind of economic growth and prosperity that we are aiming for cannot happen without private capital and that private capital cannot be unlocked without  reforming the business environment by removing obstacles and roadblocks to investment and to business operations.

“We know for a fact that it is impossible for government to provide all capital needed to invest in infrastructure, or to catalyse economic activity. The best that we can do, and what we should be putting our energy into, as government, is acting as a catalyst, an enabler, supporting private capital to achieve maximum impact in an economy that so desperately needs all the investment it can get.

‘And this is the entire point of the privatisation programme in the first place – it is about getting government out of the way so that businesses can do what they need to do is to create jobs and prosperity. I am glad that we are here today to see one of the success stories of the Federal Government’s privatisation programme.

“What Indorama is accomplishing today is in line with President Buhari’s vision for a country that produces what it consumes and grows what it eats. If you had to sum up our vision for the Nigerian economy in a few words, these would suffice. Grow what we eat, produce what we consume. “At the end of last year, the president launched a  Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, to ensure  availability of cheaper fertilizer to our farmers, to support what we are doing in agriculture, in the production of rice and wheat and other staples.

“The fertilizer initiative, now well underway, has created significant economic opportunities for companies like the IEPL. I have been informed that Indorama will, this year alone, supply about 360,000 MT of Urea to fertilizer blenders, who will in turn produce NPK fertilizer for the benefit of farmers across the country. “This is the kind of economic progress we are after, in which every unlocked opportunity proceeds to unlock several others, across multiple sectors of the economy.

“In equally exciting news, Indorama has now pushed ahead deeper into the value chain by going into fertilizer production. Their fertilizer plant, commissioned today, is, I am told, one of the largest in the world, designed to produce 1.5 mts of Urea fertilizer per annum, for the domestic and foreign markets.

“We will continue to support Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited’s expansion ambitions. Our commitment to the privatisation programme is equally assured, and we will continue to do everything to support investors to maximise the potential of their assets.

“It is worthy of note that Indorama Eleme is not just a privatisation success, it also has the important component of part community ownership. So that the local community is  stakeholder in this enterprise. This is good practice and a model for ownership of natural resource based industries in the future.”

He urged the company to continue to cooperate and collaborate with the Bureau of Public Enterprise and added that Indorama’s graduation from the monitoring programme should not be an excuse to depart from best practice, or from the operational discipline that comes with oversight. In his speech, Governor Wike said the state government had investment interest in Indorama, adding that it was the reason his administration had been supporting the company in resolving some issues between the company and its host community. He explained that the support was necessary as Indorama has the capacity to create jobs for the jobless youths.

Wike said he was happy to be the governor at the time of the commissioning of the fertilizer plant and promised to support the company.

Earlier, Chairman of the company, Pakash Lohia described Indorama fertilizer as the largest single train urea plant in the world, with a capacity of 1.4 million tons a year. He explained that the journey to realize the fertilizer project took the company over three years, despite many obstacles.   “But, this would not have been possible without the support of all the government bodies, our engineering, technology, and construction partners, and all the staff and workers who worked night and day to complete this project. “We are pleased to announce that with the start of this plant, Nigeria is self-sufficient in fertilizer now.’

“With a total investment of $1.4 billion in the plant, pipelines and export terminal, this is one of the largest investments done in the non-oil and gas sector. A consortium of 15 financial institutions, led by IFC have extended their support to make this investment possible,” he said.

Meanwhile, Governor Wike has decried politics of under-development being promoted by some politicians, saying he will remain committed to the development of the state despite plots to distract him. Speaking while commissioning the Rukpokwu-Aluu Road and Rumuokoro Market and Park in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area yesterday, Governor Wike said Rivers people must take note of those who are bent on frustrating development  in the state. The two projects were billed to be commissioned by acting president. Osinbajo had earlier commissioned two roads before leaving for Abuja.

Wike said: “They are annoyed that our projects are being commissioned. Their anger will not stop us from delivering projects for our people. We wrote to the acting president to visit Rivers State to commission a number of projects on July 19, 2017. We got a response that due to his crowded schedule that day, it was not feasible. They gave us July 27. The advance team came in yesterday and said there is also the commissioning of Indorama.

“I heard on the radio that the other party wrote the acting president saying the commissioning of projects make us shine. They have forgotten that we shine because God is with us and the numerous projects we execute for our people.”

At the Rukpokwu-Aluu road, the governor recalled that during the campaign, he made two promises to the people, which he had fulfilled.

The governor urged the market women trading along the Rumuokoro Road to stop. He also asked members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers to use the park in the market and desist from picking passengers on the road.

“Now, that we have opened the market, nobody should trade on the roadside. Nobody should pick passengers on the road. Henceforth, we will take action against those who flout this order,” he said.