Grow what you eat, consume what you produce’

Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, was in Port Harcourt on Thursday, July 27, 2017, to unveil what is now known as the world’s largest urea plant for the production of fertilizers.

He hinged his message to Nigerians on the push for the nation to imbibe a new culture of; ‘Grow what you eat; consume what you produce.’ He said this is a Federal Government philosophy to justify actions that support Made-in-Nigeria products. 

“What Indorama is accomplishing today is very much in line with President Buhari’s vision for a country that produces what it consumes and grows what it eats. 

If you had to sum up our vision for the Nigerian economy in a few words, these would suffice.  Grow what we eat, produce what we consume.”

Below is the full text of his address: “I welcome you to this event, the Formal Release Ceremony to discharge Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited, (IEPL), from the mandatory five-year Monitoring Programme of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

“You will recall that in 2006, 75percent of Eleme Petrochemical Limited’s equity was sold to Indorama Consortium Ltd, the present Core Investor of the Company, for US$225million while 10percent was sold to the NNPC Pension Fund for US$30million. Following this, the company was handed over to its new owners on October 26, 2006.

“In 2009, the National Council on Privatization (NCP) graciously approved the sale of 7.5percent and 2.5percent of the remaining government’s 15percent reserved equity in the company to the community and staff of the company respectively, leaving a balance of 5percent with the BPE on-behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN).

“Following the 2006 handover, the BPE carried out routine monitoring on the enterprise to ensure that the core investor adhered to and implemented the post-acquisition plan it had laid out for the company. 

Today is the culmination of that process of monitoring and oversight by the BPE. 

I am delighted that it is taking place on an inspiring and hopeful note, and that we are all here today celebrating a thriving and promising company. 

We should not take this state of affairs for granted.

“The Buhari administration is unequivocally committed to the success of the private sector. 

This is why a lot of our focus has been on significantly improving the business environment for businesses, small and large.

“Last year, President Buhari established a Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), whose results are now starting to be felt across the country. 

The kind of economic growth and prosperity that we’re aiming for cannot happen without private capital, and that private capital cannot be unlocked without reforming the business environment by removing obstacles and roadblocks to investment and to business operations.

“We know for a fact that it is impossible for government to ever be able to provide all the capital needed to invest in infrastructure, or to catalyse economic activity. 

The best that we can do, and what we should be putting all our energy into, as government, is acting as a catalyst, an enabler, supporting private capital to achieve maximum impact in an economy that so desperately needs all the investment it can get.

“And this is the entire point of the privatisation programme in the first place – it is about getting government out of the way so that businesses can do what they need to do to create jobs and prosperity. 

I’m glad that we’re here today to see one of the success stories of the Federal Government’s privatisation programme.

“At the end of last year, the President launched a Presidential Fertilizer Initiative, to ensure the availability of cheaper fertilizer to our farmers, to support what we’re doing in agriculture, in the production of rice and wheat and other staples.

“That Fertilizer Initiative, now well underway, has created significant economic opportunities for companies like the IEPL. 

I have been informed that Indorama will this year alone supply about 360,000 MT of Urea to Fertilizer blenders, who will in turn produce NPK fertilizer for the benefit of farmers across the country. 

This is the kind of economic progress we’re after, in which every unlocked opportunity proceeds to unlock several others, across multiple sectors of the economy.

“In equally exciting news, Indorama has now pushed ahead deeper into the value chain by going into fertilizer production.

Their Fertilizer plant, commissioned today, is, I am told, one of the largest in the world, designed to produce 1.5 mts of Urea fertilizer per annum, for the domestic and foreign markets.

“We will continue to support Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Limited’s expansion ambitions. 

Our commitment to the privatisation programme is equally assured, and we will continue to do everything to support investors to maximise the potential of their assets.

“It is worthy of note that Indorama Eleme is not just a privatization success it also has the important component of part community ownership.  

So that the local community is stakeholder in this enterprise. 

This is good practice and a model for ownership of natural resource based industries in the future.

“In conclusion, let me emphasise the need for IEPL to continue to cooperate and collaborate with the BPE. 

Indorama’s graduation from this Monitoring Programme shouldn’t be an excuse to depart from best practice, or from the operational discipline that comes with oversight.

“And in the near future I expect that the Nigerian public will get a chance to partake in the fortunes of this company. On this note, let me say hearty congratulations to Indorama.”