The Taraba State Investment and Property Development LTD has revived some moribund companies generating over 7,000 jobs in the state.
Managing Director of the investment, Mr. Iliya Ezekiel gave the hint on Monday while briefing newsmen in Jalingo.
He mentioned the companies as Taraba Gas, Taraba beverages, Taraba vegetables, Taraba Motel and Taraba Oil mills as subsediaries under Taraba investment.
He said that those commercial outfits have contributed significantly to the economic growth of the state in particular and Nigeria in general.
Mr. Ezekiel noted that crime became less in the state due to the reactivation of these moribund companies which he said had created both direct and indirect jobs for the teaming youths population in the state.
He also said that the Taraba cucumber would soon be supplied to US and some countries in the UK, pointed out that the distribution at present had covered up to Ghana and Benin Republic, adding that the company had concluded arrangements to enship the product to Europe and A.U.
The Chief Executive Officer also explained that the Taraba vegitables which hitherto produced cucumber and pepper, would soon produce bitter leaf, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes among others in large quantities.
He revealed that in few months to come, the green house will produce organic onion as well as sugarcane which has been introduced recently with the view to maximize the income.
Mr. Iliya Ezekiel however, said that such was the expansion drive of the investment, eulogizing Governor Darius Ishaku for having the vision to revamp those moribund enterprises.
According to him, the previous administrations do little or no effort in reviving those commercial outfits.
“Let me tell you, some people said they should should have given the money used to established the green house to rice farmer, that is one off, when you give the money to a rice farmer, he only farm for That year and produced, is a seasonal crop, is it not so?, Then thereafter he will say the money has finished and it will not go round as this one is going round”
“This one, the greatest advantage it has created is that, everywhere in Nigeria and even abroad, have known about Taraba being the first state to produced from the Green House, no any state can able to compete with us even if they start now because we have known the techniques of growing in the green house than any other state.
“Number two, we have trained our staff on continuation, based on this, even if after the General Manager has gone we still have our people that are on ground to continue and we are trying to expand, so when you say is a misplace of priority is not true, the truth about this place is that, this place has come to stay and production is going on every time unlike when you farm rice, only ones off, the season has gone, the money when they sales they carry it and ask government to bring again.
“But government in it’s wisdom, in the wisdom of the same problem, the money is being established here, everything you are seeing here is the money, the money has not gone anywhere, is the one that used to acquired all these assets, so it is well spent, the money is been used to alternate in the salvation of this place and we are running it and it will run through out, is given employment, is giving produce to people, imaging FMC Jalingo now is giving us a space to have our tomatoes and cucumber because they are all medicinal” Mr. Ezikiel elaborated.
The MD therefore, urged the state government to transfer any profit oriented outfit in the state to the investment house for proper maximisation of those corporations.
