Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu state, in his resolve, to revive and convert the state’s dormant assets to productive assets, has signed a N100 billion deal with Pragmatic Palms Limited; a subsidiary of Diamond Stripes Limited.
According to the governor, this is to resuscitate the moribund Enugu State United Palm Products Limited (UPPL).
Speaking during the signing of agreement at the Government House Enugu, Governor Mbah said the move was in line with his administration’s determination to grow the state’s economy exponentially from $4.4 billion to $30 billion, assuring the investors that his government would play its own part.
“This investment outlay of over N100bn is very significant because we also see agriculture beyond food security. We see agriculture as business.
“I want to assure you that the government you are dealing with is business-facing, and given my background as an entrepreneur, we understand what it means to have the ease of doing business. So, what we are doing here today will mark the beginning of great things ahead.”
Also speaking, the Managing Director/CEO of Pragmatic Palms, George Nwangwu, said palm products were in high demand, noting that United Palm Products Limited was capable of kick-starting the economic transformation of Enugu state.
“We have to realise that agriculture is a business. We are going to bring in a lot of equipment, and we are going to process the palm. Not just the palm, the palm kernel is an export commodity. If you go back and look at the biggest import over the years, palm is actually number five on the list. So, it is a significant product, and we tend to make sure we optimise its potential here,” he said.
