Enugu State Government and Jelfah Nigeria Ltd have signed a N40bn deal for the revitalisation of the long-moribund and state-owned Sunrise Flour Mills, Enugu.

The deal, which was signed at the Government House, Enugu, Tuesday, saw Jelfah acquire 60 per cent equity stake in Sunrise Flour Mills and is expected to invest N24bn in the iconic mills, which went moribund since 1985, just two years after it was commissioned in 1983, while the state government keeps 40 per cent based on the existing assets of the company.

Speaking at the brief signing ceremony and public announcement of the transaction, Mbah said this milestone, coming on the heels of the N100bn deal to resuscitate the hitherto dying Enugu United Palm Products Limited, UPPL, were clear demonstrations of his administration’s determination to grow the state’s economy from $4.4bn to $30bn through private sector investment.

“Just a few months ago, we secured an investment size of N100bn with a company known as Pragmatic Palms Limited, and today we have just witnessed Enugu State, again, securing another investment size of N40bn.

“This investment will see Jelfah Group investing N24bn into the existing Enugu Sunrise Flour Mills. N22bn will be directed into revmaping and resuscitation of the Sunrise Flower Mill, and N2bn is going to come to the State by way of cash.

“The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is also going to own 10,000 hectares of farmland, where we are going to cultivate the inputs for the flour mills such as cassava and grain.

“This is a testament that when we say Enugu State is open for business, we are truly committed to it. We understand how to make a win-win deal, both for the investors and for the people of Enugu State,” Mbah stated.

He assured Jelfah group of continued support, enjoining other prospective investors to come over to invest in the state.

“We hope that this signals to other investors, who may still be on the fence that Enugu is actually ready for business. We are committed to not just creating the enabling environment, but also working with investors to help them derisk investments and grow their businesses,” the governor concluded.

Speaking, the Chairman of Jelfah Group, Moses Saromi, said they were attracted by Governor Mbah’s vision, dynamic leadership, and speedily increasing ease of doing business in Enugu State under his leadership, saying that Jelfah was in a hurry to transform Sunrise Mills to a centre of excellence.

“Your policies have unlocked new opportunities for private sector participation, and Jelfah is proud to be part of this progressive movement.

“This acquisition of 60 per cent equity not only aligns with Jelfah’s long-term vision, but also furthers the governor’s ambition of empowering the people, revitalising moribund assets, and ensuring sustainable development. And together with our consortium partners, our goal is to transform Sunrise Four Mills into a centre of excellence, harnessing our collective expertise to drive growth and value creation.

“So, we firmly believe that this partnership will catalyse positive change, spark job creation, elevate local production capacities, and contribute significantly to the socio-economic advancement of Enugu State,” he said.

“We have worked hard in the last months to get to this point. We have a short term, medium term, and a long term plan for the flour mills. Activities will start in earnest. In another 90 days, you are going to experience a lot of movements and activities with regards to the revitalisation of the flour mills.

“Our activities will include recruitment of people, who will run the plant, indigenes of the state, obviously. And as the governor rightly said, we are creating a model that will provide the inputs for the mills, such as the 10,000 hectres of farmlands to cultivate all the inputs for the mills,” he said.

As part of the effort of his administration to grow the state’s economy from $4.4bn to $30bn and ensure food security, tractors needed for farming in Enugu State will be produced in the state before the end of the year, governor of the state, Dr. Peter Mbah has announced.

The governor stated this when he received the newly elected President of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye, and other leaders of the association at the Government House, Enugu, at the weekend.

He reiterated his administration’s commitment to creating a business-friendly environment and helping to de-risk investment in the state, calling on investors to key into the growing investment revolution in the state.

“We are ready for business and we are open for business. You could not make a better choice than Enugu when you are thinking about where to invest or where to grow your wealth because you are dealing with a government that is business-friendly and we do not only think about creating the environment for businesses to thrive, we are also interested in working with you collaboratively either as a Joint Venture (JV) or Private Public Sector Partnership (PPP) or even helping you to de-risk the investment flow. We are interested in listening to you, knowing what areas that would make it possible for you to invest.

“We have just signed an order with a Danish company that is coming here to manufacture their tractors. So, our target is that before the end of the year, we would have been able to assemble over 300 tractors. Our ultimate target in the medium term is to get up to 1,000 tractors before the end of next year.

“What this means is that you would not have to import the machinery and the implements you need to be able to farm in Enugu State.

“Again, we are interested in value addition and processing too. We are building a Special Processing Zone where we expect that as we plan to scale up our production in the agricultural space, we have produced cities where those things can be processed. It is not just producing and exporting them raw. We are planning to add value, create and capture those values,” Mbah said.

He added that the government was taking measures to ensure the availability of the necessary infrastructure, ranging from urban roads to access roads to farm, power, and water, while also making huge investments in security and collaborating with security agencies to sustain and strengthen the relative security attained by the state in the last 15 months.

“In the area of roads, our target is to make sure that all our streets, all our roads in the city are paved and we are already achieving that. Just recently, we completed the 71 roads we awarded last October and we again awarded another 141 roads. We are also making sure that we also get our rural roads paved, most importantly the access road to the farmlands because we have some ambitious target in our agricultural sector where we now have over 300,000 hectares of land in our landbank,” he said.

Lana1:
This MLS is one funny league. Most of the games I've seen start with a goal within 5 mins and by 20+ mins both teams don see about 5 big chances

OlujobaSamuel:
This stati sense go just dey post nonsense without any scientific methodology claiming it as fact

givedemwotowoto:
My guess based on the stats is that many of these deaths are probably due to poor healthcare facilities and road accidents

The SE I know has probably the lowest single parenthood resulting from divorce (both parents still alive)

passion007:
On the issue of nationality, what do people think of Chidimma Adetshina, born and raised in South Africa to a Nigerian father from Enugu and a Mozambican mother, but for complex reasons, is now not technically South African.

I'm presuming that by allowing her to participate in our beauty pageant she was de facto accepted to be Nigerian, but I would be interested in the actual law that supports this. By contrast, do children of Gambian nationals born in Nigeria gain Nigerian nationality at birth? And is this nationality by virtue of birth in Nigeria, having lived in Nigeria or strictly by having parents who are Nigerians?

Also, do Enugu people recognise her as Onye Enugwu having not been born here nor lived here nor speak the language? Do tribal affiliations overcome these other barriers?

Just trying to understand the law better.

PS Just to add this is not a shade, I genuinely feel sorry for her and wish her well, and can't imagine how it must hurt to be rejected by the country you were born in and lived in all your life.

T for thanks.

engrelvis:
l know raw talent when I c one. Mainoo is just there. Rashford did more this when he was coming up.

afrodoc2:


Long term? How long is the term cos we are still waiting.

I also prefer to have true 8s play the double CM role, not AMs like Bruno or Mount masquerading as CMs.

afrodoc2:


We should discard that no10 anyway, whether Zirkzee is playing or not. Playing double CMs with a CDM behind them will give us better protection in midfield and improve our transition defense.

Leyqute:


Because Bruno and Zkz are fighting each other to play 10. One wears jersey number 8 and the other calls himself a 9.5

odizeey:


Baba you can't blame De Gea for Ole not winning any trophy.

What kind of mentality is this?

melodyogonna:
Why doesn't our two fullbacks make overlapping runs?

odizeey:


Why didn't you blame Rashford for playing nonsense that day.

If you have forgotten, go and watch the game again. Did the game start with penalties?

odizeey:

How do you guys keep saying you blame De Gea.

It annoys me when you people say this.

Did you blame Onana for the community shield loss?

All this blame games is why some people still think Pogba is a wasted talent

afrodoc2:




Feel wetin? LOL

odizeey:


Consistency and lack of final result.

odizeey:


Which one be feel things again, baba. Take it easy

obonujoker:


How he didn't win trophies, is unexplainable

afrodoc2:


Out of all the managers in the world it is Ole that you want? 😀

melodyogonna:
Some sunset shots of Enugu via @dinero_visualz
Edit: This is New Heaven