Osinbajo commends Obaseki, WACOT on Edo fertiliser

Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, has lauded the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, and WACOT Limited for joining forces to revitalise a fertiliser plant, which had been non-functional for about 14 years in the state.

The Vice President, who made the commendation recently at the commissioning of the Edo Fertiliser and Chemical Company Limited, Auchi, was accompanied by the Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, and Okechukwu Enrlamah of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

Speaking at the event, Osinbajo commended Obaseki for creating the enabling business environment in the state and WACOT for its foray in the agricultural sector especially in agro-processing, saying the Buhari administration takes the private sector seriously. and has the capacity to produce about 60,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser per annum.

“We believe that government resources cannot bring about the rapid roll out we need, especially in the areas of infrastructure and industrial development. It is the private sector that can do so. We are therefore committed to making it easy for businessmen to invest and do business everywhere in Nigeria” he said.

Obaseki said that the aim of revitalising the plant was to make the state self-sufficient in food production and enable farmers get fertiliser at affordable prices.

Group Managing Director of TGI Group – parent company of WACOT Limited, Mr. Rahul Savara, said that the cornerstone of the partnership with the Edo State Government on the fertiliser plant was the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative executed by the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Fund, the policy thrust of Governor Obaseki and support from Fertiliser Producers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) among others.

He said: “we are strongly committed to the administration’s vision of attaining food self-sufficiency and economic prosperity through agriculture. And we have backed this commitment with action through continuous significant investments and interventions targeted at various agricultural value chains.”

Also speaking at the event, Mr. Ujwal Senapati, Managing Director of WACOT Limited, said the compnay will continue to deliver quality agricultural inputs at affordable prices to farmers, and would in the near future locally blend crop-specific fertiliser for a diverse range of crops.