Tambuwal breaks ground for $13m fertiliser plant in Sokoto

Gov. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State on Wednesday laid the foundation for the construction of a $13 million fertilizer blending plant by OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Limited in an industrial layout in the outskirts of the state capital.

This was contained in a press statement signed by the Special Adviser Media and Publicity to the Governor, Muhammed Bello, and made available to BusinessDay in Sokoto.

According to the statement, Gov. Tambuwal said the company, with a production capacity of 200,000 metric tons per annum, would guaranteed 100 percent return on investment (ROI) in terms of contract that the state government will award it for the purchase of its products in like sum once the company completes its plant and commences operations July next year as scheduled.

The contract, noted the governor, “will enable the company recoup its investment” in the project designated as “an agricultural center of excellence” within the first year of its operation.

He stressed further that the contract is part of the administration’s objectives to “attract genuine local and foreign investors to the state”.

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The governor enumerated it’s package of incentives to include “provision of infrastructural facilities at industrial layouts, easy access to land, tax holidays, as well as joint venture partnerships”.

“OCP Africa has started benefitting from the state government’s incentives with the granting of a piece of 10 hectares land and its certified title deed (Certificate of Occupancy) to it by the state government in less than 24 hours last year,” he said.

Gov. Tambuwal hinged his administration’s drive in this direction to the fact that “countries of the world are gradually gravitating towards non-oil revenues”, thus the need for the state government “to focus on the development…so as to decrease our dependence on oil with a view to increasing our internally generated revenue (IGR)”.

Tambuwal explained that his administration will not relent in its effort to move Sokoto State forward for sustainable development in all sectors.

He added that the government’s determination is “to not only promote but also improve agricultural production for food sufficiency promotion of agricultural business”.

In his remarks, the Deputy Managing Director of OCP Africa Fertilizers Nigeria Limited, Caleb Usoh, said upon completion the plant “will provide direct jobs for 75 persons and also serve as a centre of training for fertilizer manufacturers, farmers and other members of the agricultural value chain”.