Soludo Performs Groundbreaking for Kojo Motors’ Yutong, OMAA Vehicles  Assembly, CNG Plant Construction

Bennett  Oghifo

Anambra State is fast becoming a renewed investors destination for different types of money bags rushing to the state to capitalise on the pledged ease of doing business to set up businesses. This time around, one of such massive investments is being undertaken by John Ikenna Oguegbu, an indigene of the state and chairman, founder and CEO, Kojo Motors Limited.

Barely 24 hours after the Anambra State Investment Summit which ended last week, Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo performed the groundbreaking ceremony of Kojo Motors auto assembly plant for the local assembly of OMAA range of gas-powered mini passenger and commercial buses as well as Chinese range of Yutong passenger and commercial buses located at Umunya, along the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway.

While congratulating John Ikenna Oguegbu, chairman and chief executive of Kojo Motors Limited for bringing his wealth to his home state to invest, Governor Soludo also commended the Yutong buses manufacturers from China for the smart move of coming to Anambra State to set up the auto assembly plant in collaboration with the local franchisee.

The governor stated that the decision to allow prospective investors to come and invest in the state was not out of philanthropy or charity, but rather a business decision model that will take Anambra State to the world and bring the outside world to the state.

While congratulating John Ikenna Oguegbu, chairman and chief executive of Kojo Motors Limited for investing in the state, Governor Soludo pledged the state government’s commitment and patronage of the vehicles that will be rolling out of the Yutong Assembly plant, he also commended the planned move by Kojo Motors to set up the CNG and Electric Vehicle charging station within the same facility, adding that, the Anambra state government under his administration is on course towards massive industrial development, employment generation and prosperity for all its citizens.

Welcoming the state chief executive with his commissioners for transportation, industry and investment, energy, including his special sides, other political office holders in the state, the transitional chairman of Oyi local government as well as some traditional rulers to the historic event, John Ikenna Oguegbu expressed his satisfaction in coming to his own state to set up the assembly plant for both OMAA buses with Chinedu Oguegbu as the brain behind the OMAA brand, the Yutong buses, as well as CNG facility.

Chinedu Oguegbu, Managing Director of OMAA declared that beyond being sufficient in human capital, Nigeria is blessed with unutilised abundant natural gas. For the OMAA helmsman, “ Our dedication to ‘Made in Nigeria’ to Africa and the world under the National Automotive Industrial Development Plan (NAIDP) of the federal government will not only directly employ many Nigerians,  but position Nigeria as an automotive manufacturing hub in Africa.

Anambra State, he pointed out, is fast becoming a renewed investors’ destination as they capitalise on the pledged ease of doing business to set up businesses. “This time around, one such massive investment is being undertaken by John Ikenna Oguegbu, chairman, founder and CEO, Kojo Motors Limited.”

He congratulated governor Soludo for the success of the last Anambra state Investment Summit and expressed confidence that the take away from the gathering will more positively attract more investors to the state.

In his speech, Chino Ogwumike, national sales manager, Kojo Motors Limited declared that, the ground breaking ceremony of the auto assembly and natural gas facility will go down in the corporate history of the  automobile company for identifying with the economic developmental blueprint of Anambra state under the able His Excellency, Professor Chukwuma C. Soludo.

According to him, “Assembly operations in Semi-Knocked Down (SKD) format at the lgbo-Ukwu facility and this new site would be our progression to Complete-Knocked Down (CKD) featuring automated welding, painting and final assembly.”

Ogwumike said that, the site would also consist of first of it’s kind public L-CNG plant and electric vehicles (EV) charging station making Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and EV Chargers available transporters, fleet operators and the general public in the state.

The ground breaking ceremony signifies more than just the beginning the construction; rather it represents our commitment to growth, our belief in innovation, and our dedication to “Made in Anambra” to Africa and the world.

The very expansive automobile assembly plant which is in tandem with the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP) will not only directly employ many Anambra indigenes, it will also create indirect job and small business opportunities within this locality, as well as enhance technological development.