Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has promised tax holiday and other incentives to manufacturers willing to establish in the state.
Such incentives include right to land with certificate of occupancy (C of O), tax holiday, and to mobilise local investors for collaboration, among other incentives.
Tambuwal disclosed this during a visit, in company of his cabinet members, to Erisco Foods Limited factory in Lagos.
“We are here to appreciate what Erisco Foods has done in Lagos, and we pray that God will protect him and his business. We are also extending an invitation to other business concerns, particularly indigenous entrepreneurs, to come to Sokoto State. We are available and amenable, and shall give necessary incentives to manufacturers that are willing to come and establish their presence in Sokoto,” the governor said.
Sokoto government is ready to develop a very good business framework by way of regulation or policy that will promote and sustain businesses such as Erisco Foods, he said.
Responding on the issue of Nigerians not patronising locally made goods, he said, “we must begin to look inward. As we are all aware that our economy is facing challenges and one of the best ways we can encourage indigenous entrepreneurs is to patronise their products.”
According to the governor, his government shall inculcate the spirit of patronising locally made goods by way of deliberate policy, as his administration is conscious of the need to set up storage facilities. They have held a meeting asking the Federal Government to take over the silos in Sokoto at the moment, he said.
On the issue of power, he noted that the immediate past administration worked on independent power plant project to generate about 38 megawatt, and that the project was about 90 percent to 95 percent near completion.
Being solely owned by Sokoto government, his administration can subsidise it and work with investors on how best they can come up with framework that will make it easy to generate more power.
Receiving the governor and his team, Eric Umeofia, president, Erisco Foods, said investment in Sokoto State had no limit, saying he planned to invest $250 million that would create about 6,000 jobs for Nigerian youths.
Umeofia sees investment in Sokoto as going back to his home, saying, “they thought me how not to be greedy and to be contented. As a result of that, I found it a good reason to pay back the training and success I made in Sokoto. So, I am going to replicate my investment here even double.”
