A’Ibom Insists on Private Running of Coconut Oil Refinery

Okon Bassey

Akwa Ibom State Government has said that the state multi-billion naira Coconut Oil Factory, St Gabriel Refinery would be subjected to private management.

The state commissioner of Information and Strategy, Akwa Ibom State, Comrade Ini Ememobong disclosed this at the assessment tour of projects in the state.

The Commissioner explained that the state governor, Mr Udom Emmanuel being a financial expert adopted this model so that the companies can in turn give dividends to the state government. 

He admitted that government is not a good bussiness manager noting that Ibom Air as well as the Ibom Icon hotels are privately run and are bringing a lot of dividends to the state.

He said the process has injected life into the economy of the state indicating that such would be replicated in the newly commissioned coconut refinery.

“There is no fear of how to properly manage those businesses as the governor has shown great example with the way Ibom Airlines is being run. Though owned by the government, it is run like a private enterprise. Same thing is applicable to Ibom Icon Hotel. The state is getting dividend from them, “he said.

Ememobong added that the governor in an attempt to create jobs for the teeming youths engaged humans to perform some tasks that machines can do in some of the industries stressing that the coconut refinery crushes about one million nuts daily.

He said, “With mechanization introduced to industrialization, his Excellency consciously designed a human interface into it, somethings machines can handle, his Excellency employed the youths to be doing them so as to engage them.

“The principle of private sector is what we use in running all our endeavors, level of equity in Ibom Air is purely government, fully owned by government but run privately, we don’t have government interference unless where very neccessary.”