Gov. Nasir El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State said at the
weekend said his government, Bank of Industry,
business tycoon Aliko Dangote and some states
will acquire the Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Ltd
(PAN).
El-Rufa’i who said this during the state’s special
day at the ongoing 37th Kaduna International
Trade Fair, named the other states as Katsina,
Kebbi and Jigawa.
He said a proposal to acquire the majority
shares of the company had already been
submitted to Assets Management Company of
Nigeria (AMCON).
According to him, the step is part of efforts to
revive ailing industries in the state to provide
huge employment opportunities to the teeming
unemployed youths in the region and Kaduna
State in particular.
He said that PAN, a critical partner in Kaduna
State industrial history, had gone down from
assembling 90,000 cars per annum to merely 200
a year.
“Our hope is that when we acquire the majority
share of the company, we will restructure it to
operate to full capacity of assembling between
90,000 and 100,000 cars yearly.
“We have the support of PAN as well as the
government of France in this drive.
“We are determined to bring back all industries
related to Peugeot established in Kaduna as
part of plans to ensure that every youth in
Kaduna State has something doing,” he said.
The governor added that his administration had
created more than 120,000 jobs in nine months,
“but it is not enough; we have to work harder
considering the number of unemployed youths
in the state”.
He added that plans were underway to revive
textile industries in the state.
“Kaduna State Government is committed to the
revival of not only the textile industries, but the
entire cotton, textile and garment value chain in
the state in our development strategy,” he
added.
El-Rufai also said that as part of effort to revive
the agricultural sector, the state government
would soon enter an agreement with a company
to enable the state become a poultry hub in sub
Saharan Africa.
“We are also making arrangement with another
company to establish the largest fertiliser
storage facility in the country in Kaduna to
ensure that our farmers have access to fertiliser.
“The commissioner for commerce is currently
negotiating with a foreign company that is
interested in establishing a fertiliser plant in
Kaduna,” El-Rufa’i said.
On mining, the governor said that artisan
miners would be organised into cooperatives to
streamline all mining activities in the state to
tackle illegal mining.
He commended the organisers of the trade fair,
the Kaduna Chambers of Commerce, Mines,
Industries and Agriculture (KADCCIMA), for
bringing captain of commerce and industries to
the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that
the trade fair which began on Feb. 25, will end
on March 6. (NAN)
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