From Sola Ojo, Abuja
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, has called for immediate action to revive the Savé Sugar Company, a joint venture between Nigeria and Benin Republic.
Senator Enoh, who stated this during his visit to Cotonou on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, expressed appreciation for the extra security measures put in place by the Benin Republic government to secure the joint facility.
Special Assistant to the Minister on Media, Diana Mary Tiku Nsan, on Wednesday described her princioal’s visit as significant, as it marked the first time a Nigerian minister would visit the facility since its establishment in 1975.
To her, Enoh’s on-site inspection revealed that the company has experienced declining fortunes and is now in a state of disrepair.
The last managers, Compliant of China, vacated the facility in May 2023, after a 20-year lease agreement expired.
A joint assessment visitation in 2021 had recommended that Nigeria sell its equity holding in the company, but the Buhari administration declined, opting instead to source new core investors.
“Various meetings at both technical and policy levels have continued to be held, but away from these, action is needed. Seeing is believing is a common popular saying.
“This visit is an eye opener, and more than anything else, we seek its revival. The two countries, as a matter of urgency, need to get a worthy core investor within the shortest possible time”, Diana quoted her principal.
On his part, Benin Republic’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shadiya Alimatou Assouman, described the visit as a “historic moment” that signified a commitment to the sugar complex and bilateral relations between the two nations.