Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State today flagged off an egg factory, The Sunshine Food Processing Concept Ltd, worth N4.2 billion at Emule-Ile in Owo Local Government Area of the state.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, Akeredolu noted that the factory if completed would be of immense benefits to Nigeria as whole, noting that it would save Federal Government nothing less than $30 billion being used to import eggs on yearly basis.
He added that the investment would create no fewer than 10,000 direct jobs for the job seekers.
According to him, 500,000 eggs will be needed per day for the operation of the industry.
Akeredolu explained that the Federal Government would have to ban importation of eggs when the industry began operation.
The governor stated that the industry would be the biggest ever in the state when completed.
He, therefore, asked farmers to start investing in poultry farming, saying the industry would be an available market.
In his words, Mr Akinboye Oyewumi,the Chairman of Board of Directors of the company, explained that the investors are Imperial Capital with 45 per cent stake while the state government has 55 per cent shares.
Oyewumi added that the state government would sell its shares when the company became full operation, saying the government was not in business to run businesses.
He said that the project would be completed within 12 months, explaining that both partners provided the money for the company’s take off which he said was in a bank already.
Similarly, Pastor Akin Olotu, the Special Adviser on Agriculture and Agric. Business to the state governor, said that the benefits inherent in the investment were not only meant for the state but the country.
Olotu explained that it would have great effect on Nigeria’s foreign exchange by reducing pressure on dollars, saying that the investment would also address annual challenges being faced by poultry farmers.
The SA stated that the industry would ensure industrial usage of eggs which called for poultry value chain through a lot of groups benefiting from the investment.
“We will have egg powder, pasturised liquid eggs and the shells will be utilized for poultry feeds and a lot of things.
“What Governor Akeredolu has succeeded in doing is the development of the poultry value chain. We are looking at production, we are looking at processing, we are looking at marketing and we are looking at foreign exchange earnings.
“So, it is a full circle. The implication is that more people will come into poultry works, more jobs be created. So the advantages are so numerous,” Olotu stated.
Similarly, Engineer Ifeoluwa Oyedele, a member of the Board of Directors in the company, said that the industry had great economic gains to the state and the country.
Oyedele noted that multiple effects of the establishment would cut across all human endeavours.