The Enugu State Government in line with her zero tolerance for dormant assets in the state has signed a hundred billion naira deal with Pragmatic Palms Limited to resuscitate the moribund Enugu State United Palm Products Limited, UPPL.
United Palm Products Limited is one of the agricultural and agro-industrialization initiatives of the late Premier of the defunct Eastern Region, Dr. Michael Iheonukara Okpara.
The company and its assets have lain fallow for many years hence the state government’s interest in resuscitating and making it productive.
“We are greatly excited to partner with Pragmatic Palms, a subsidiary of Diamond Stripes Limited, to transform it from a dormant to a productive asset in fulfillment of our campaign promise to Ndi Enugu,” Dr. Mbah said.
“This investment outlay of over N100bn is very significant because we also see agriculture beyond food security. We see agriculture as a 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, we are going to ensure that this is going to be an experience that you will use as a reference point. We will be very responsive, and we are going to make sure that this partnership works for the benefit of the company and also that of Enugu State. So, what we are doing here today will mark the beginning of great things ahead,” Mbah stated.
Describing the deal as a great accomplishment for the state, the Enugu State Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Industry, Adaora Chukwu said,
“Today, we witnessed a remarkable milestone. Recall that before His Excellency came on board, one of the first promises he had made to the people of Enugu State was to revive our non-operational assets and United Palm Products Ltd is one significant asset that has been dormant for years. And what we did today was the partial handover and the contract signing of UPPL to a company called Pragmatic Palm Ltd, which is a subsidiary of Diamond Stripes Ltd.”
The Commissioner further said the resuscitating UPPL will not only create jobs but will lead to an increase in the production of palm oil which can be exported thereby generating foreign exchange for the state
In his speech, the Managing Director/CEO of Pragmatic Palms, George Nwangwu, said that palm products are in high demand and investing in United Palm Products Limited is capable of kick-starting the economic transformation of Enugu State.
“We have to realize that agriculture is 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 optimize its potentials here,” Nwangwu said.
“The idea is to kick-start the economic transformation of the state. For instance, if we produce enough, people will come and set up their soap factories and then employ more people. It has a multiplier effect.”
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