Omodele Adigun
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has once again pledged his support for investors interested in tapping the nation’s potential to create jobs just as the N42 billion Greenfield Integrated Poultry and Powderised Egg Facility in Emure-Ile, Owo, Ondo State, was jointly inaugurated by him and the state Governor, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, at the weekend.
According to Emefiele, who described the project as “laudable investments that would help drive economic growth, reduce unemployment and increase social cohesion, as well as help to support CBN’s determination to increase local production of critical agriculture produce, reduce imports of items that could be made in the country, and help conserve foreign exchange. The doors of CBN are wide open to whoever wants to channel the nation’s potential to job creation.
“What we at the CBN have held ourselves out to do is to give support to anybody that wants to tap the potential that God has given to our country by providing access to finance and create job opportunities for the youths,” he said.
Speaking about the project, Governor Akeredolu explained that it is being executed through joint venture initiative, with a determination to produce powdered eggs at the factory and take some out as export.
He added: “The Ondo State government, in collaboration with Greenfield Assets Limited, estabilished this integrated commercial scale poultry farm and powdered eggs manufacturing plant in Emure-Ile, whose estimated value is about N42 billion. It is said to be able to achieve production of 10 million broilers per annum; egg powderisation plant of 500,000 per day capacity; up to one million as time goes on; 100 million eggs per annum; 400,000 layers per annum; poultry processing plant capacity of 2,000 birds per hour.”
In his remarks, the CEO of Greenfield Assets Limited, Mr. Paul Obanua, explained that he and his German partners have been on the project for the past five years, adding that he was about taking it elsewhere when he was convinced by a friend to take it to Ondo State.
“We believe that within a year, we would commission this project.”