‘Nothing will stop Gov. Nwifuru from inviting investors to build extra cement factory in Ebonyi – Okah 

……Says Ebonyi is heaven for investors, tourists Centre for foreigners 

By Uchenna Okeh, Abakaliki 

The Chairman of Ebonyi State council of Elders and former commissioner for public utilities, Ben Okah has said that Ebonyi among other states in the SouthEast region, is heaven for investors and tourists centre for foreigners, especially under governor Francis Nwifuru’s administration.

Okah, a member of the newly inaugurated Ebonyi State economic advisory committee, made this known while fielding questions from newsmen in Abakaliki, capital of Ebonyi State.

He said that the economic advisory committee is charged with a very wide responsibility, especially to ensure that Ebonyi becomes the hub for investment by investors in Nigeria.

According to him: The terms of reference for this committee is quite wide,but principally it’s an economic committee, economic team, that’s a very wide responsibility as response by the government, andit includes areas of industrialization, areas of investments, etc.

“Like you mentioned, the industrial zone, which hasalready been built. So, the Committee is supposed to bring about new states to the view of the world.It’s a heaven for investment because we have peace and we have facilities.

We have facilities enough to accommodate any industries. You mentioned power, which the governor is already investing in. 

“In industrial zones, five to six megawatts are powered by gas turbines or gas engines. Such that the cost of power will be at par with EEDC or cheaper than EEDC, but cost tax.So, anybody investing in industrial clusters is short of power, short of water and can produce at optimum.

“So, you also mentioned that he has revoked the formal allocations made over 20 years ago, which has not been developed. New persons who are going to be allocated industrial zone will bring something to be seen.

In other words, if you want to manufacture Slippers, we have to have enough evidence.”You have the equipment to install and be allocated, giving power and all materials required for you to work.

So, principally it’s to industrialize Ebonyi State. And when it comes to Ebonyi state, what we have comparative advantage is in mining.

“Mining is good for Ebonyi State. What we have in River states as oil, we have as stones on the ground. Unexplored yet.  People doing illegal mining and causing a lot of environmental hazards. So, that’s an area that we are going to look at. Then also, NigerCem.

“NigerCem, I can say it is more important. Recall that a committee was set up by the government to liaise with the co-investor, Chief Ibeto, to know what exactly is stopping him from commencing work at NigerCem.

“The committee has gone to a large extent.And in the next one week, if you look at the internal report of the governor,the governor also mentioned that since Ebonyi State is sitting on limestone,nothing will stop Ebonyi State from inviting investors to build, even more than one extra cement factoryor factories that will derive limestone or granite for their products” he stated.

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“The government is very serious about industrialization.And without power, you cannot industrialize.So, there cannot be any failure.In fact, there was no failure in the first one.It’s just that on the subsequent disagreements with operating entities,there was no failure because all of you were there.

It was tested. “So, it was not a failure. But government policies changed. Specific areas of use of the gas plants have been mapped out. And the essence is to have power where it is needed. And as it is needed, not excess power”

“People can invest in areas that are cheaper. Investors like to invest in cheaper areas, rural areas, that must have power. But now we don’t have enough power in rural areas. We expect that this complementary power project will assist immediately the investors” he added.