Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,(CBN) Godwin Emefiele, has given assurances to genuine investors of the apex bank’s support in achieving self-sufficiency in local production and pursuance in economic diversification.
Emefiele made this statement through CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor.
The CBN Governor had toured facilities of the newly completed Sunti Golden Sugar factory in Sunti, Niger State.
The CBN Czar advised small scale sugarcane farmers in the area to leverage on the presence of the Sunti Golden Sugar factory to boost production, as the company hs decided to buy all their produce from them.
According to Emefiele, “the bank invested about N26 billion in the project in order to encourage import substitution and backward integration strategy.
“Such investments are geared toward self-sufficiency, generate employment and create wealth.”
Chairman of the Flour Mill of Nigeria Group, owners of Sunti Golden Sugar Company, John Coumantaros, expressed profound gratitude for the uncommon support which the CBN been giving to the company without which the project wouldn’t have been completed on record time.
He said the N45 billion sugar-refining project will create over 15,000 jobs, including 3,500 direct jobs, 3,000 small scale out-grower farmers and save over $50 million in foreign exchange for the country on an annual basis.
