The inter-ministerial National Sugar Roadmap Implementation Committee (SURMIC) of the Federal Government has commended the management of BUA Group for its recent investments in its Lafiagi Sugar Company and encouraged the company to sustain the pace of ongoing work at the plantation.
This was revealed when the SURMIC paid a monitoring visit to the Lafiagi plantation recently.
The SURMIC visit, which had the directors of Technical and Planning at the National Sugar Development Council, the Manufacturer’s Association of Nigeria, the Ministry of Agriculture, The Ministry of Power as well as other high-level stakeholders in the sugar industry included a tour of BUA Group’s Lafiagi Sugar Plantation as well as an inspection of equipment and ongoing work, was carried out to ensure compliance with the government’s backward implementation policy.
Speaking during the visit, director Technical at the Sugar Council, Jika, commended the pace of ongoing work at the Lafiagi Sugar Company as well as the investments in infrastructure on ground. “We are satisfied with what we have seen on ground. Whilst the ongoing work is commendable, we expect BUA to sustain the current pace of work at Lafiagi into the future so that Nigerians can start to benefit fully from the backward implementation policy of the Federal Government.”
In his response, Isiaku Samuel, a General Manager at Lafiagi Sugar Company, said that despite the challenges faced in taking full ownership of the site after BUA purchased the company through a privatization exercise, BUA has gone ahead to mobilise manpower and equipment to kick-start the once-moribund facility in addition to acquiring an additional 50,000hectares in Bassa Local Government of Kogi State for sugarcane farming.
“We are happy with this visit by the National Sugar Roadmap Implementation Committee (SURMIC) to verify ongoing work at our facility. Whilst we have made considerable efforts in developing a sugarcane nursery and land development activities for the next planting season, we have also deployed additional manpower and equipment to fast-track the development of the plantation. We have also ensured that the Sugar Council and other relevant stakeholders have been carried along in this process.”
