.. Tasks investors on job creation
By Steve Agbota
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday commissioned an integrated poultry farm and animal feed mill in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
The inauguration of the N20 billion facility, built by Olam Group was the President’s first public function outside the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) since his return from London, where he spent 103 days on medical leave.
President Buhari who briefly commissioned the facility left for another presidential meeting while the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, presented the president’s speech on his behalf.
However, the Buhari exhorted both local and foreign investors to invest in the nation’s economy by taking advantage of the favourable business environment being created by his administration.
According to him, investors should invest in areas that would complement the employment generation initiative of the Federal Government in the country.
Speaking on the importance of the Olam project, he said: “This project is very important to us. We are determined to encourage those who are coming to invest in Nigeria to invest in areas where our people can get jobs, particularly in the non-extractive industry.”
He assured the Olam Group and other investors of his government’s continued support and partnership in several other investments.
Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, commended President Buhari for creating time out of his busy schedule to commission the feed mill and being his first official assignment after he returned from abroad.
The governor said the feed mill was designed to produce 1.6 million day-old chicks weekly and 360,000 metric tonnes of animal feed annually, adding that the project would add value to Nigeria’s quest for achieving food security and economic diversification.
He noted that the project is one largest single private sector investment in the state, which will encourage small farmholders.
The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, said the project would help to drive economic growth and reduce unemployment in the country.
He stated that the facility would also increase local production of materials that can be locally produced in Nigeria and save foreign exchange, adding that the investment would not have been possible if the Kaduna State government had not provided enabling environment and supported the project.