Funmi Ogundare
The Cross River State Government has signed a concession settlement with ValueFronteira Limited for the event of a 4,000-hectare oil palm plantation in Ijiegu Yache and adjoining clans in Yala Local Government Area of the state, with the investor committing greater than $20 million to the venture over 5 years.
The venture, which is anticipated to create hundreds of jobs and enhance agricultural manufacturing in six clans together with Ijiegu, Wonye, Uchu, Ichui, Ukani and Ewor, is a part of the state authorities’s agricultural transformation agenda geared toward strengthening meals safety, selling rural growth and enhancing livelihoods.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ assembly and web site handover ceremony held in Ijiegu Yache, Cross River State, the Managing Director of ValueFronteira Limited, Maurice Ekpong, defined that the organisation would make investments over $20 million inside 5 years to determine the plantation.
He said that the venture would generate hundreds of employment alternatives and considerably remodel the economies of the host communities and Cross River State.
Ekpong’s announcement was welcomed by conventional rulers, group representatives, youths and ladies leaders, who expressed optimism that the funding would create jobs, significantly for younger folks, whereas enhancing financial actions and livelihoods throughout the communities.
The Clan Head of Wonye, HRH Mohie Damian Ododo, described the venture as a dream come true, pledging the collective assist of the clan heads for its profitable implementation.
He additionally affirmed ValueFronteira as a company member of Yache land.
Other conventional rulers and representatives on the occasion included HRH Mohie Isaac Omaji, Clan Head of Ijiegu; HRH Mohie Innocent Okaiiba Aji, Clan Head of Ichui; HRH Mohie Ogar Idazor, Clan Head of Ukani; Augustine Obozor, representing Ewor Clan; and Pius Idagu, representing Uchu Clan.
In his remarks, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor and Director-General of the Bureau of Public Private Partnerships, Dr. Francis Ntamu, assured stakeholders that the concession course of was clear and aggressive, resulting in ValueFronteira’s emergence as the popular investor.
He disclosed that the venture had obtained the total approval of the State Executive Council (SEC), including that: “It aligns with the government’s drive to attract investment and strengthen critical sectors of the economy.”
He expressed the state authorities’s hope that the funding will contribute to positioning Cross River as a significant agribusiness vacation spot in Nigeria, whereas supporting its broader targets of meals safety, rural growth and financial empowerment.
“The development is expected to expand commercial agricultural activities in Yala, create employment opportunities and stimulate economic growth in the host communities,” Ntamu harassed.
The authorities delegation additionally included the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Solicitor-General of the state, Rosemary Onah, and Brian Ugbe, a Director within the Ministry of Agriculture, who represented the Commissioner for Agriculture.
