CBN To Partner With Investors

Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, has said that the apex bank is ready to partner with investors and industrialists committed to the backward integration programme of the Federal Government.

He stated this on Sunday  at the inspection of a privately owned Sunti Golden Sugar Mill estimated at N36 billion  in Sunti Village, in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State, in conjunction with the State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello.

He stated further that the  apex Bank was prepared  to give support both in terms of Naira funding and also in terms of foreign currency funding for importation of equipment and other machinery to investors and industrialists who are committed toward the economic growth and development of this country.

He said  that the backward integration scheme of Sunti Sugar Company informed the CBN N26 billion intervention fund of single digit interest rate of seven per cent.

Accordingly, Emefiele said,  “this project marks the success story of  President Muhammadu Buhari’s focus and his aggressiveness towards ensuring that we diversify our country away from oil economy into a non-oil driven economy.

“A project like this  is an indication that Nigeria is working. It may look a little painful, but at this time when there is scarcity of foreign exchange, this is the kind of project we will continue to give support to.”

Also in his remarks at the occasion, the Chairman of Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (FMN), Mr John Coumantaros, said that the Sunti Golden Sugar Estate,  a subsidiary FMN is a backward integration programme with 17,000 hectares of land for locally refine sugar.

Coumantaros disclosed that the plant,  which has production capacity of 1 million metric tonnes of sugar annually, will for a start, be producing 100,000 metric tonnes of sugar per annum and provide over 25,000 job opportunities.

Earlier in his remarks,  the State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello,  charged communities hosting various industrial initiatives in the State to protect such  projects in their domains, while  assuring  investors of enabling environment and protection of their investments saying, “that the State has been adjudged as one of the States with the least crime index in Nigeria.”

Governor Sani Bello stated this  shortly after inspecting  the privately owned “Sunti Golden Sugar Mill” in Sunti Village of Mokwa Local Government Area of the State.

He was accompanied by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele.

The Governor said the charge has become imperative  as both local and foreign investors  have started to heed his administration’s call to invest in the economy of the State, hence the construction of the Sugar mill in Sunti.

“Now that investors and industrialists are yielding our clarion call and are investing their hard earned money in the State by establishing multi-billion Naira projects that will boost the economy of the state, provide job opportunities and open up our state.

“As investors are coming now, host communities must be prepared to cooperate with them, protect the factories. The agro-allied factories will not only provide jobs for our youth, they will empower and enhance our farmers as the factories are ready to buy up all the farm produce”, said the Governor .

The Governor who  expressed  delight by the level of investment and work on the Sunti Golden Sugar mill as well as the vast hectares of Sugarcane plantation cultivated by the firm,  pledged  that his administration will ensure a conducive and business friendly policies and environment for genuine investors.

He thereby commended the commitment of management of the Sugar company towards the backward integration initiatives, saying the State would continue to partner investors willing to develop the State.

“We as State government pledge our support for Sunti as partners in progress. We will support you in every way in achieving your target. We hope to see you expand your operations with the farmers to grow sugarcane that will form the nucleus  of agriculture potentials in the State”, the Governor added

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