By; BALA B. BITRUS, Minna
Nigeria’s quest for self sufficiency in refined sugar received a boost on Thursday as the 30,000 tonnes daily output capacity Sunti Sugar Company in Sunti area of Mokwa in Niger State was commissioned.
President Muhammadu Buhari who inaugrated the company owned by the Nigerian Flour Mills, said the dream of local production of sugar was now more than ever before, at the verge of being realised soon.
He arrived at the Tsagyi village, site of the Sunti Sugar Company at 12:40 pm aboard a presidential Helicopter amidst cheers and jubilation by locals, politicians led by governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger state, his Deputy and other members of the statecraft, members of the traditional institution in the state and host of others.
President Buhari said efforts by his administration would continue to be steadied towards self sufficiency in food production and to feed industries and for export as well.
Speaking at the occasion, President Muhammadu Buhari reiterated his administration’s commitment to job creation and delivering empowerment opportunities to citizens.
He said government would continue to create the enabling environment for economic growth even as he enjoined well placed persons to avail themselves of government’s incentives for investors.
He commended the initiatives by corporate individuals to push through the economic turf saying the horizon is promising and Nigeria would be an economic power in no distant future.
The President said the present administration was committed to diversification of the country’s economy to ease the country out present sole dependence on crude oil.
The multi billion naira sugar project is part of the strategic plans to pull the country out of economic woes as a huge net importer of consumer imported goods.
The Sunti Sugar company is expected to generate well over 15,000 direct jobs and engage over 20,000 cane farmers to feed the sugar estate which lies on the sugarcane belt of Niger State.
