By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
Nigeria’s Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment (FMITI), Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo has stated that his ministry is committed to President Muhammadu Buhari’s mandate of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty and creating a large number of jobs especially for our youth, through the dogged implementation of various economic growth initiatives such as the Nigerian Sugar Master plan.
This is even as he disclosed that Nigeria will be self-sufficient in sugar production in 10 years, pointing out that Presidential Sugar Backward Integration Programme (BIP) being pursued by the present administration has ensured the revival of the once comatose sugar industries in some parts of Nigeria.
The minister who featured at the Special Weekly Briefing coordinated by the Presidential Communications Team on Thursday at the Press Gallery of State House, Abuja, used the opportunity to speak on the current status of the Presidential Sugar Backward Integration Programme (BIP) and other key reforms being undertaken by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
Otunba Adebayo also used the forum to provide further updates on key collaborations between the Federal Government and the state governments in the implementation of some of the major reforms being executed by the Ministry.
According to him, BIP has revolutionized the sector and the idea to focus on sugar is yielding the desired results as it has the potential to create high number of jobs while sugar is a key raw material for the manufacturing sector. He also said that sugar is an efficient source of electricity and efficient source of Bio-fuel such as Ethanol. He said sugar apart from being an out-of-consumption has inclusive Growth through Value Addition to Agriculture.
Going down the memory lane, the minister said the federal government established the Nigerian Sugar Company, Bacita in Kwara state with an installed capacity of 40,000 Metric Tons (MT) in 1961 and in 1981 the it established the Savannah Sugar Company Limited (SSCL), Numan, Adamawa state with an installed capacity of 50,000MT.
He however stated cane production phase of the Sugar Value Chain is the most capital intensive due to the cost of infrastructure and land development. The industry he said therefore requires the right type of investors with adequate capital and cashflows to make and sustain the investment.
The minister argued that the Nigerian Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) goal is being achieved under this administration. He said the goal of NSMP is to attain self-sufficiency in sugar production while the Objectives are:
To grow the required local capacity to meet the demand for sugar; Create large number of jobs for Nigerians; To stem the tide of unbridled importation of sugar & its by-products; and To contribute to local production of ethanol and electricity.
He called on all Nigerians to join hands with the administration of President Buhari in bringing this vision to life even as the minister said the target of NSMP is for the production of:
❖ 1,797,000 tonnes of sugar annually;
❖ 161.2 million litres of ethanol annually;
❖ 411.7 MW of electricity annually;
❖ 1.6 million tonnes of animal feed annually;
❖ 37,378 permanent jobs;
❖ 79,803 seasonal jobs;
❖ US$350-$500 million savings in foreign exchange on sugar imports annually; and
❖ US$65.8 million savings in foreign exchange on fuel imports annually.
