Ella Lakes will be working with the Ekiti State Government to improve the biodiversity of the landscape and increase employment in the state.
This was disclosed by the Managing Director of Ella Lakes, Mr Chuka Mordi while speaking in an interview with Nairametrics at the Ekiti Fountain Summit which was held on Thursday, October 14, 2021, at the Civic Centre, Ado Ekiti.
Mr Mordi said that in addition to employing labour and working towards improving biodiversity, the firm also wants to restore the forest asset in the state within the stipulated period.
What Ella Lakes MD is saying
Commending the administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi for embracing sustainable investment in the state, Mr Mordi said the whole process of application so far has been very efficient when compared with other states.
“We applied in varieties of states in Nigeria so, I can say that this administration has an efficient process. Also, in terms of the outlook, interaction with investors such as ourselves, it’s great that Kayode Fayemi’s administration is focused on understanding that land assets and biodiversity, cultivating and testing them properly means you can add and grow value with asset.
“On the land, we are working with the state and we have been focused on biodiversity and agro-forest project in trying to execute varieties of project. Essentially, if we grow that and add value to the economy of the state, it could be a very significant asset for the state.”
Speaking on the expectation in five years period, he added that he expects to see a lot of changes in terms of the processing, and general operations as well.
He said, “In five years, I expect we would have moved from cultivation to processing and whatever we are working on across the entire value chain will be working. Necessarily, this requires jobs, the addition of skill and it means hiring local people in our enterprise to scale up the operation we have here.”
What you should know
It would be recalled that Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo declared open the Fountain Summit in Ekiti State.
The Summit was headlined by Governors Nasir El Rufai, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Godwin Obaseki of Kaduna, Lagos and Edo States, respectively, amongst other dignitaries, investors and stakeholders in the State.
