BusinessDay 13 Feb 2018

Tuesday 13 February 2018
NEWS
NEXIM moves to revive moribund
Multi-Trex Cocoa processing factory
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
Nigeria Export -Import
(NEXIM) Bank
is making plans
to resuscitate the
Multi-Trex Cocoa processing
factory, which has remained
closed for 13 years.
Abubakar Abba Bello,
managing director, NEXIM,
said this at the weekend during
a joint facility tour of
Multi-Trex Integrated Foods
Limited, Ogun State.
Asset Management Corporation
of Nigeria (AMCON)
has to be reached in specific
terms. “It is our determination
to bring back Multi-Trex to life.
This will create jobs and encourage
export,” he said, as he
challenged the managing director
of the company to show
more commitment towards
revival of the cocoa firm.
Multi-Trex factory has remained
closed since June 26,
2015, on the basis of an interim
order of the Federal High
Court, granted by Justice F. O.
G. Ogunbanjo on June 12, 2015
and subsisting till date, for possession
of the manufacturing
factory of the company.
AMCON laid claims to a
Edo partners NIGCOMSAT to deploy e-learning facilities in schools
Edo State government
has commenced negotiations
with the
Nigerian Communications
Satellite Limited
(NIGCOMSAT) for the provision
of e-learning facilities in
schools across the state.
Commissioner for science
and technology, Emmanuel
Agbale, disclosed this in an interview
with journalists shortly
after a meeting between the
state government officials
and representatives of NIG-
COMSAT, at the Government
House, Benin City on Monday.
Agbale said the state government
was fine-tuning
details of the partnership,
adding, “Godwin Obasekiled
administration means
business with the plan to deploy
technology in enhanc-
Nigerian governors
have backed the
call for state police,
even as they
canvassed for gradual implementation
across the
country.
This, they attributed to
the fact that not all the 36
states of the Federation
have the financial strength
to execute it.
Speaking with journalists
at the just-concluded
National Security Summit
in Abuja on Monday, chairman,
Nigerian Governors’
Forum (NGF), Abdul’aziz
Yari, called for the amendment
of the 1999 Constitution
to remove the issue of
police from Exclusive to
Concurrent List.
Yari, who is also the
debt of N13.3 billion being the
contested sum of N8.5 billion
Eligible Bank Asset (EBA),
bought from Skye Bank plus
AMCON’s own interest calculated
for the period that the
company had been prohibited
by Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) from accessing working
capital for its operations.
Multi-Trex faults the procedure,
claiming its acquisition
by AMCON was not only
unlawful as it was performing
and meeting all its financial
obligations with Skye Bank
before the N8.5 billion EBA
was acquired. Multi-Trex is
insisting on the sum of N6 billion
agreed with AMCON as
full and final settlement.
During the tour carried
out in company of the House
of Representative Committee
on Banking and Currency,
Bello said NEXIM was committed
to revitalising of Multi-
Trex Cocoa processing plant.
He called on entrepreneurs
in cocoa processing value
chain to avail themselves
of the N500 billion single digit
interest rate funding incentives
by the bank.
He assured of NEXIM’s
Governors back state police, call for gradual implementation
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
ing teaching and learning in
schools across the state.”
According to Agbale, “The
state government is partnering
with NIGCOMSAT because
it has the capacity to
provide solutions required
for the deployment of technologies
for teaching and
learning in schools. NIG-
COMSAT will also organise
the training of teachers to
manage the ICT facilities to
be deployed in schools.
“We have concluded
arrangement for capacity
building and development of
science and Information and
Communication Technology
labs in schools across the
state, already.”
On his part, executive director,
marketing and business
development, NIGgovernor
of Zamfara State,
argued that state police
could not be implemented
simultaneously across the
country.
Although there has been
clamour for the creation of
state police with Vice President
Yemi Osinbajo lending
his voice to the issue at
the opening session of the
Summit last week, there
are, however, concerns that
due to the grim economic
situation that has seen 27
states in the country finding
it difficult to pay the salaries
of their workers, funding
constraints could mar the
implementation in some
states.
But Yari called for the redeployment
of more Federal
police to states that can’t
afford state police, saying
governors had already
readiness to effect the processing
of loan application by
Multi-Trex, but alluded to the
fact that the terms of settlement
between Multi-Trex and
AMCON had to be reached in
specific terms.
What the company needs
is only the working capital,
he said, adding that as
an export credit institution
charged with the mandate
to promote export diversification
of the non-oil sector,
it has in the past supported
the cocoa value chain by
funding major cocoa processing
plants.
John Onyereri, chairman,
House Committee
on Banking and Currency,
said the private sector
needed to be encouraged
to advance the growth of
the economy by reducing
the interest rate on loans.
He promised to push until
the Multi-Trex factory was
resuscitated, “We are pushing
as parliament and we will
keep pushing. At a point, they
will do that because we have
the will, but nothing is achievable
until there is an executive
approval.”
COMSAT, Samson Osagie,
said “NIGCOMSAT provides
satellite services and solutions
to improve teaching
and learning in schools.
“NIGCOMSAT is ready to
assist Governor Obaseki to develop
science, technology and
innovation to deliver effective
governance in the state.”
Osagie said the partnership
with Edo government
was part of the pilot scheme
of NIGCOMSAT to showcase
its potential in providing
seamless connectivity and
satellite communication solutions,
noting, “The deployment
of e-learning facilities
for teaching and learning
in primary and secondary
schools would raise the quality
and standard of education
in the state.”
agreed on the issue as far
back as 2014.
“That is why we are saying
that it is not all the
states that are supposed
to have state police. Those
that can, can have it. For instance,
Lagos State, as rich
as they are, can have state
police. The Federal police
in Lagos, they can reduce
the number to Osun, Ogun
and other states that cannot
do it. If Rivers State can
afford it, the number of
Federal police can be redeployed
to Cross River and
other neighbouring states
like Enugu that cannot do
it. If Kano State can do it,
they can take to my state
(Zamfara) that is not all that
richer. It is something that
we can’t take up at the same
time and land at the same
time.
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BUSINESS DAY
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