Daily Independent (Lagos)
27 October 2008
interview
Theodore Orji is the Governor of Abia State. He is a member of the Peoples Progressive Alliance (PPA) which outpolled the hitherto ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2007 general election.
For that reason, Orji believes that the way to win the hearts of Abians is through optimum performance that should mean a steady improvement in the socio-economic wellbeing of the residents.
In this interview with Group Politics Editor, Sunny Igboanugu, Orji gives a detailed analysis of his programmes for the state, including the growing industrialisation in Abia, as well as the dynamics of Igbo politics and the best way to achieve the much-sought additional state(s) in the South-East. Excerpts:
Your Excellency, we hear your government has begun a process of revitalising the economic base of the state through industry and agriculture. Tell us about it.
Thank you. It is an interesting question, but let me start with Umuahia. You all know that before now, most of our industries for which we are indebted, for which we are paying back now were established during the time of Sam Mbakwe. Most of these industries have been moribund for a very long time. Now that we are diversifying to agriculture, from the oil industry, we shall go to revive some of these industries;.not by government being involved, but by PPP, which is the in-thing right now. Because there are a lot of investors who are coming to Abia to invest. They have their money to invest and we are saying, yes! We have the climate, come and invest. In Umuahia, you know we have the Modern Ceramics Industry that has been moribund for a very long time - that industry has started test-running right now - and the management approached me, asking for a date for the commissioning of the industry. That industry produces admiral tiles for domestic use; and not less than 1000 Abians are currently employed in that industry. We all know the effect of reopening that industry in the state, and since it started has started test-running, by December-January, it will go into full operation, if it is commissioned as early as the management is expecting.
Then you come to the Golden Guinea Breweries, which has been producing Golden Guinea Beer and Bergdorf Beer, Stout and Malt. That industry also has been dead for a very long time. You know it was a public liability company owned by Abia and Imo. It had been dead to the extent that it was heavily indebted to the First Bank, which placed it on the market. We have been able to get an investor, who has been able to push in his money into the revitalisation of the company. Right now, he is in Germany planning to ship equipment necessary for its modernisation down to Umuahia. He has promised that the industry will come back to life by December this year; and a lot of people will secure employment, not only direct employment, but through distributorship also. This will bring back the economic activities that were hitherto lost due to the dormancy of that industry. This is for the two major industries in Umuahia.
Then if you go to Aba also, the Glass Industry is producing right now. You will be surprised that all the pharmaceutical bottles you have in Nigeria, 80 per cent of those bottles are being produced in that industry. It is being managed in partnership with Churchgate. We have also another Glass company that produces bottles for other Nigerian industries, such as bottles for Coca-Cola, and Nigerian Breweries products. These are the industries that we have in Aba. Apart from that, there are other small-scale industries that are producing - the leather, the shoe industries, fabrication of machineries - all these things are happening in Aba. We are doing our best to make sure that the dead ones are revived and the ones that are on ground produce to optimal capacity. There is this common facility in Aba that has been established in partnership with the Federal Government. That is where we train people. People come and learn the art of making shoes and sewing garments. It is equipped for the traders in Aba to come under co-operative formations to be trained. When you train them, equip them by way of skill acquisition, then they go back to establish on their own.
Fortunately for us, in Aba also, an independent man, Prof. Barth Nnaji of Geometrics is trying to establish 188 megawatts power plant that will now supply power to Aba and environs. That plant will go into operation by March next year. So, if we have industries with adequate power - you know power is our problem in Aba - I think it will go a long way to alleviate the problems of our people and offer employment to our people and to increase production.
This power you are talking about, is it going to be distributed privately or connected to the national grid?
No, it will be distributed privately. The company will be in charge to distribute and make some gains out of it.
How affordable will the power be?
It will be affordable because it is targeted at the private people and the inhabitants of Aba. We have discussed with Geometrics, the owners of the power plant, and they have accepted that they will do it at a very reduced price, that is to say, that it will be affordable to everybody that is in Aba. The partnership is symbiotic partnership, not the one that we are cheating them or them cheating on us.
First and foremost is that the company acquired the land and we gave them a Certificate of Occupancy for that. Then we also waived taxes to the tune of N50 million; taxes that they are supposed to pay to Abia State Government. We waived that so that they can float. With that N50 million that we waived for them, they can invest it in other things. We have also built a ring road for them, so that they can access their company easily and bring in their equipment. We are building also a housing estate in that area and have ceded some of the houses to them which they will use to habour their staff.
The villagers also: there was a time they wanted to be hostile, but the state government stepped in and brought peace between the company and the indigenes. The state government has been able to provide security for the workers and for the company. That is the extent of our partnership with the company. But, we are now entering into another partnership where we are going to tell them: you see, it has been the state government doing..., state government doing... Once they go to production, what they have to do for the state government. We have earmarked some areas, some government buildings, government institutions they have to give light to free of charge; we have also earmarked the number of people they will employ, the calibre and number of people they will employ from their immediate environments and Abia State as a whole. So, we are working at that before they go into production by March next year.
Abia State is also known for cashew production. What is happening to the cashew industry here?
We are touching every issue. Like palm oil. We all know the importance we attach to palm oil. Before the advent of crude oil, it was palm oil that people depended on. In fact, there was this communal partnership where people go and harvest the palm oil and any money that comes from there, you use it to train people. It used to happen here; but with the advent of crude oil, people seemed to have abandoned the production of palm oil. The Malaysians came here and took the seed, went back to Malaysia and started producing it more than us, high quality. We, hitherto, had Adapalm, which is an estate for production of palm oil. We had workers that plant, replant and harvest the palm, process it and sell them to make money for government. But for sometime, that estate has been abandoned, gone moribund, and nothing is happening.
We have now come to the realisation that one day the crude oil will dry up, but the oil palm will ever remain. So, we believe in the dictum that 'government has no business in doing business.' Because, we have empirical evidence to show that there is no good industry, factory or establishment that makes money, which government has managed well. That is why we are going into partnership. We now brought in these Italians that has come to invest in that palm produce. We were there recently to hand over the estate to the company. That company has been able to first and foremost revive the oil mill in Nbawsi, and it is functional now. Secondly, they have been able to remove this thorny issue from us, which is payment of compensation to the landowners. They have done that and the landowners are now willing to accept them. The third thing they are going to do now is to replant, because the palm trees there are now old. They are going to replant with new high-yielding palms, so that in the next two-three years, the estate will start booming. And it will bring income to us and the company also as well and employ our people.
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