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Donald Ude – Abakaliki
The Executive Governor of Ebonyi State, Rt Hon Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru has unveiled plans to build a new cement factory in Ebonyi State.
The Executive Governor stated this while leading some Chinese contractors and engineers around NIGERCEM, Nkalagu, Ishielu LGA explained that the reason for the project to build a new cement factory is largely due to the bottlenecks surrounding the revitalization of the already existing NIGERCEM.
The Governor said another reason behind his plan to build a new cement factory was the result of a large deposit of limestone, which is undoubtedly an essential raw material for cement production.
He pointed out that preliminary results indicate that large limestone deposits are available in the state that will support the company for more than 3 decades
According to Governor Nwifuru “We have 50 million tonnes of limestone in Nkalagu and 23 million tonnes in Effium and if combined, we will sustain the factory for a minimum of 30 years”.
He further explained that the proposed new Ebonyi Cement Factory is not politically motivated but is aimed at meeting the industrial needs of the people as it will create jobs and bring down the price of cement not only in Ebonyi State but across the country.
In his words “the creation of the new cement plant was not politically motivated nor was it driven by opaque interests, but because it informs the industrialization components of the people’s needs agenda”
Regarding transparency and speedy completion of the construction process of the new cement factory, the Ebonyi CEO vehemently stressed that no government official, including himself, will have shares in the new company.
According to him, “We have come with manufacturers, designers, builders and contractors, they will see the limestone. We have been assured of timely completion of this project” adding that “no one will have shares here, including my humble self”
It will be recalled that in a bid to revitalize the old existing NIGERCEM, Nkalagu, Governor Nwifuru had sent a high powered government delegation to Chief Cletus Ibeto who, as a renowned industrialist, is responsible for the management of NIGERCEM and has also invested a large amount of money in the moribund cement factory.
The former governor of Ebonyi State, His Excellency Chief David Nwaze Umahi, had also withdrawn all legal actions initiated against the IBETO group by former governor Elechi, however NIGERCEM has failed to become operational.
It will also be recalled that Ebonyi State Government had voted the exorbitant sum of $150 billion for the construction of the proposed Ebonyi Cement Factory as Governor Nwifuru insisted that “this is part of the project we believe we must execute”
And while lauding the efforts of some industrial minded Ebonyi friends, Governor Nwifuru commended the efforts of the Executive Governor of Anambra State, His Excellency, Professor, Chukwuma Charles Soludo for his continued interest towards the rehabilitation and revitalization of the then moribund NIGERCEM which was a vibrant and indeed one of the major cement factories of the Nigerian federation.
