Sunrise Flour Mills: Mbah’s Revival Crusade Sweeps Through Enugu’s Moribund Assets

Uche Anichukwu catalogues the effort of Governor Peter Mbah Administration to revive Enugu State-owned moribund assets to create jobs and catalyse economic growth.

Decrepit. Abandoned. Eyesore. Wasted. These and more are the immediate adjectives and pictures that confront any visitor to the once iconic Sunrise Flour Mills, one of the legacies of Senator Jim Nwobodo as the governor of old Anambra State. It was commissioned in 1983 to add to the industrialisation and economic growth of the old Anambra State.

However, no sooner was the Nwobodo Administration kicked out of office by the General Muhammadu Buhari military regime than the going concern pack up in 1985. An attempt by the Sullivan Chime Administration to resuscitate Sunrise in 2013 through a 30-year leasing agreement between Enugu State and DAO-VTV International Trading Services and Investment Limited, a Vietnamese firm, did not work. So, Sunrise has been moribund for the past 39 years.

The same fate also befell other legacies of Nwobodo like Ikenga Hotels in Enugu and Nsukka, Aluminum Ports Factory in Igbo-Etiti LGA, Nike Lake Resort, Anambra Television, Anambra Vegetable Oil Products at Nachi, among others, which are now either half dead or in total ruins.

It is also recalled that the former Eastern Region’s economy was ranked the world’s fastest growing and industrialising economy between 1954 and 1964, courtesy of Dr. Michael Okpara’s principle of “Pragmatic Socialism”. NIGERGAS Company, Niger Steel Company, and Asbestos Cement Factory in Emene, Enugu; the Golden Guinea Breweries in Umuahia, Michelin Factory in Port Harcourt, shoe factories in Owerri, Hotel Presidential in Enugu and Port Harcourt, the Calabar Cement Factory, NIGERCEM Nkalagu; among others and numerous farm settlements and plantations for various cash crops were established across the defunct Eastern Region.

Unfortunately, almost all of them, including the ones inherited by Enugu State, are in either ruins or sold off. No thanks to military rule a dysfunctional federalism, profligate and unimaginative leaderships.

Consequently, during the 2023 governorship campaign, candidate Peter Mbah, presented an economic vision to grow the Enugu State’s economy from $4.4bn to $30bn by transforming the state from a public service to a private sector-driven economy. And one of his major templates to achieving that is by converting the state’s numerous moribund assets to productive assets.

The N40bn Sunrise Flour Deal

Recently, the Enugu State Government and Jelfah Nigeria Limited, a private investor, signed a N40bn deal to bring the company back to life. Jelfah acquired a 60 per cent equity stake in the company and will in turn invest N24billion in the iconic mills, while the state government retained 40 per cent based on the existing assets of the company.

Throwing more light on the transaction, governor Peter Mbah said, “This investment will see Jelfah Group investing N24 billion into the existing Enugu Sunrise Flour Mills. N22 billion will be directed into revamping and resuscitation of the Sunrise Flour Mill, and N2 billion is going to come to the State by way of cash.

“The Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is also going to own 10,000 hectares of farmland where we are going to cultivate the inputs for the flour mills such as cassava and grain. This is a testament that when we say Enugu State is open for business, we are truly committed to it. We understand how to make a win-win deal, both for the investors and for the people of Enugu State. So, we will support you every step of the way to ensure that you succeed because the end is to create jobs and wealth for our people.

“We hope that this signals to other investors, who may still be on the fence that Enugu is actually ready for business. We are committed to not just creating the enabling environment, but also working with investors to help them derisk investments and grow their businesses.”

The Chairman of Jelfah Group, Moses Saromi, predicated the deal on Governor Mbah’s vision, dynamic leadership, improved security, and speedily increasing ease of doing business in Enugu State under his leadership, stressing that the administration had unlocked new opportunities for private sector participation.

“This acquisition of 60 per cent equity not only aligns with Jelfah’s long-term vision, but also furthers the governor’s ambition of empowering the people, revitalising moribund assets, and ensuring sustainable development. And together with our consortium partners, our goal is to transform Sunrise Four Mills into a centre of excellence, harnessing our collective expertise to drive growth and value creation.

“So, we firmly believe that this partnership will catalyse positive change, spark job creation, elevate local production capacities, and contribute significantly to the socio-economic advancement of Enugu State.

“We have worked hard in the last months to get to this point. We have a short term, medium term, and a long-term plan for the flour mills. Activities will start in earnest. In another 90 days, you are going to experience a lot of movements and activities with regards to the revitalisation of the flour mills. Our activities will include recruitment of people, who will run the plant, indigenes of the state, obviously,” he said.

N100bn Enugu United Palm Products flagged-off

Originally established by the defunct East Central State in 1970 on 6,700 hectares of land traversing Ibite-Olo in Ezeagu LGA, Ugwuoba in Oji River LGA, and Umulokpa in Uzo-Uwani LGA, the Enugu United Palm Products Limited, EUPPL, was initially viable. But like other public-owned enterprises, it was not long before it was decapitated by mismanagement, obsolete equipment, and limited market access.

However, Governor Mbah recently flagged-off the revitalisation of EUPPL at Ibite-Olo, describing it as the triumph of vision over cynicism – obviously referring to the misgivings in some opposition quarters back in May when his administration and Pragmatics Palms Limited sealed a N100 billion deal to resuscitate EUPPL. It was wrongly claimed that the administration awarded a N100 billion contract to a new firm, whereas it is a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The deal actually saw Pragmatic Palms Limited, the investor, acquire 60 per cent equity in the company by also providing the finance for 60 per cent of the transaction, while the state government keeps 40 per cent based on its lands and plantations. The government did not pay a dime.

“What this groundbreaking ceremony represents for us is a new lease of life for Pragmatic Palm Product Limited. It also shows that we are getting closer to our dream to transform Enugu State as a premier destination for investment, industry, tourism, business and living,” Mbah stated at the official flag-off.

Rolling out an intensive, five-year plan for repositioning EUPPL, Managing Director/CEO of Pragmatic Palms Limited, Prof. George Nwangwu, said EUPPL would play in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors, creating over 3,500 direct and indirect jobs in the process. In the upstream, Nwangwu observed that whereas only 40 per cent of the 6,700 hectres of land was planted since EUPPL’s establishment 54 years ago, the new management had already embarked on aggressive planting of the remaining 60 per cent, and would acquire more lands to increase the planted areas to 20,000 hectres in five years.

Continuing, he stated, “In the midstream, we will set up world-class oil mills across the three locations as well as increasing the oil production capacity over time. We will also set up and improve our refining capacity to produce crude palm oil, palm kernel oil, olein, stearin, biodiesel, as well as refined, bleached, and deodorised oil. In the downstream, we plan to have a share of the retail market by setting up the largest network of agents to aggregate fresh fruit bunches from around our catchment area.”

Hotel Presidential

The iconic 100-room, four-floor Hotel Presidential was opened in 1963, but was later run aground. It was thoroughly stripped bare, became bushy and only fit to be sold off as scrap. But in April this year, the administration awarded a contract for a total revamp of the moribund complex for completion and reopening before the end of this year.

Int’l Conference Centre

Also, the International Conference Centre commenced by the Senator Chimaroke Nnamani Administration was abandoned after the end of his government in 2007. Mbah Administration awarded a contract for the completion of the 5,000-seater complex and it will now be commissioned around October this year. In addition, the government also awarded a contract to the China Communication and Construction Company for the construction of a five-star International Conference Centre Hotel, which would be completed in 2025. According to the project consultant, Arc. Adibe Njoku, the hotel contains 335 rooms, consisting of 224 single rooms, 64 business suites, 25 diplomatic suites, two presidential suites, and every other facility that would enable the hotel to function as a five-star hotel.

Flagging off the project in May, Mbah said that it was part of connecting the dots in making Enugu State the premier destination for business, investment, tourism, living, and leisure, as a 5,000-capacity conference centre could not be optimized without enough accommodation.

NIGERGAS

NIGERGAS Limited was established by the Okpara Administration in 1962 in partnership with an Italian firm, Siad Machine Impianti, and was producing acetylene, nitrogen, medical oxygen, and welding/process oxygen. It was inherited by Enugu State, although it had since been run aground.  But, like others, it was run aground. In April this year, the State Executive Council approved funds for its total overhaul and revival. According to the Managing Director of Enugu State Investment Development Authority, Dr. Sam Ogbu-Nwobodo, the profitability is high, as NIGERGAS would provide the much-needed medical oxygen and industrial gas, among others, for the South East and the entire country because the country is hugely underserved.

Although it is scheduled to resume production again around the first quarter of 2025, NIGERGAS is likely to bounce back to life before the end of 2024, given the high speed of rehabilitation work.

Enugu International Hospital

Again, the sprawling hospital skeletal structures along Rangers Avenue, Enugu, which had been overgrown by bushes since mid 2000s, was retrieved from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission by the Mbah Administration and is now being turned into a 300-bed Enugu International Hospital and the best in West Africa.

Meanwhile, as Governor Mbah would normally say, Ndi Enugu have not seen anything yet, for while many regard his efforts across all sectors as giant strides, he sees them as the little beginning of a socioeconomic revolution that lay ahead of the state under his leadership. But what is not in doubt is that the long-expected reindustrialisation and economic turnaround of Enugu State has begun. 

Anichukwu writes from Enugu