Some residents of the South-South region have urged the governments of Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states to take deliberate steps at revamping moribund public industries in their states.
The residents, mainly stakeholders, experts and professionals made the call in a survey conducted by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday across the three states.
The residents expressed the hopes that reviving moribund industries would provide massive employment opportunities, and trigger economic development in the three states.
It would be recalled that governments of the three states had at different times separately established local industries that eventually went aground due to poor management, corruption and petty politics.
In the past, Rivers State boasted of the West African Glass Industry, Rivers State Vegetable Oil Company, Delta Rubber Company, PABOD Breweries, Songhai Farm among others.
Records also showed that Cross River State owned companies such as the Cross River Estate Limited, UNICEM, Metropolitan Hotel and Akwa Ibom owned the Qua Steel Products Company, Quality Ceramics Limited, Sunshine Battery Industry and Abestonit Industry Limited suffered the same fate.
According to the residents, the eventual death of local industries in the three states has not only kept many people jobless but left many families poor and hungry.
An official of Pipe Coaters Nigeria Limited based in Port Harcourt, Mr Chidi Nwankwo, said the government should conduct an audit of existing industries to determine those requiring urgent intervention.
Nwankwo advised the government to provide incentives, affordable financing, reliable electricity and improved infrastructure to encourage industries to resume full-scale production.
“The Rivers State government should identify industries that can still be economically viable and partner private sector investors to revive them.
“Industries require electricity, access to finance, markets, skilled manpower and supportive policies to stay afloat and meet competition,” he said.
Nwankwo further urged the Rivers State government to ensure that industrial policies were sustained beyond administrations in order to encourage long-term investments.
He said reviving moribund industries or establishing new ones would provide employment opportunities, increase internally generated revenue and reduce dependence on the oil sector.
The founder, the Banks Clothing Line, Mrs Amaka Briggs, located at the Trans Amadi Industrial Layout, argued that although physical infrastructure was important, it should complement industrialisation and job creation.
Briggs urged the government to establish industries capable of employing large numbers of youths rather than relying mainly on public-sector employment.
Another resident, Mr Promise George, called for greater collaboration between government and private investors in order to effectively revive abandoned industrial facilities.
George suggested the forging of public-private partnerships to enliven moribund government-owned companies that required substantial capital, modern equipment and professional management.
He also urged the government to offer tax incentives and other concessions to investors that were interested in establishing labour-intensive industries in the state.
An Economist at the Rivers State University, Dr Ebiye Tamuno, said the state could leverage its oil and gas resources to develop manufacturing and service industries that were related to the energy sector.
Tamuno also advised the government to promote agro-processing, fisheries, construction materials, petrochemicals and marine-related industries to diversify the state’s economy.
When contacted, a high ranking official of Rivers State government, who preferred anonymity, said the state government recognised industrialisation as essential to creating employment and strengthening the economy.
The official said the current administration in Rivers was working to improve the business environment and attract investors while exploring opportunities to revive existing state-owned enterprises.
In Akwa Ibom, Mr Assam Abia, a journalist, said it would serve the people better if the state government gave priority attention to revamping ailing local industries.
He urged the Governor Umo Eno-led government to focus more on policies and programmes that would create jobs and enliven the economy, instead of seeking to be temporarily applauded by the people.
Another resident, Mr Godwin Edoho, said the Akwa Ibom State government should stop paying lip service to the issue of local industries by being proactive and sincere to the people.
Edoho said the state government had not added any visible value to the Dakkada Global Oil Palm Plantation since it took over the establishment.
A resident of Esit Eket, Mr Anietie Matthew, urged the government to revive the Qua Steel Products Company and Qua Ceramics Limited.
According to him, the two companies have the capacity to generate massive employment for the people, and revive the local economies of their host communities.
The Akwa Ibom Commissioner for Information, Mr Aniekan Umana, expressed the commitment of the government to provide the enabling environment for local industries to thrive.
Umana said government would continue to provide the environment for industrial concerns to take advantage of, saying, “to create generational wealth, there must be investment in agriculture, housing, infrastructure among others”
The commissioner said some state-owned companies such as the Ibom Paint Industry was fully operational and serving the people of Akwa Ibom and the neighbouring states.
Meanwhile, the Cross River State government said it has commenced the review of moribund industries and assets with the aim to stimulate economic activities, creating jobs and empowering youths across the state.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr Ekpenyong Cobham, said there was a need to align industrialisation with the economic needs of the state.
Cobham said the Governor Bassey Otu-led government had prioritised skills acquisition, recently graduating 4,500 youths that were trained in drone technology, filmmaking and other specialised skills.
He said that the beneficiaries were also assisted with business-name registration to enhance their capacity to participate meaningfully in the emerging economic ecosystem in Cross River.
Also, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Mr Castro Ezama, said Cross River State had lost several government-owned assets through sales and privatisation by previous administrations.
Ezama said as part of the industrialisation plan, the state government had reclaimed Cross River Estate Limited and Tinapa as a way of restoring the industrial capacity of the state. (NAN)
