The Bayelsa State government has hinted of plans to revive the comatose plastic company to enable it commence business activities, create jobs for the people of the state and generate revenue for the state government.
A visit to the state-owned plastic company by journalists, who were invited to tour the factory with a view to capturing its dilapidated state and efforts being made to revive the facility, revealed that all the machines and equipment have been carted away, while the few remaining were sighted in the warehouse.
From the gate to the entire premises, there was neither any activity, nor human presence, as journalists had easy access to the dilapidated facility during the fact finding mission.
The plastic industry was revived during the time of Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, as governor of the state, but the firm was abandoned when he left office.
However, Governor Douye Diri had announced last year that his administration would revive the company after which it actually came alive before it collapsed again after a few months of operations.
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In a statement issued by the state government, Diri had said: “We are ready to talk to our businessmen and ensure that all the components of the facility are completed in our tenure and become functional and useful for the benefit of Bayelsa people and Nigerians at large.”
Although the facilities were vandalised, looted and abandoned one year after Diri’s commitment, but information available to The Trumpet indicated that acting on the directives of the state government, Managing Director of the company, Ebimie Norman Niweigha, had started making arrangements to revive the firm in partnership with a German investor, U&H Integrated Services Limited.
As of the time of filing this report, Niweigha did not respond to all calls and text messages to his telephone line, but the state Commissioner for Trade and Investments, Federal Otokito, who responded to the development when contacted on telephone, said he was aware of the development and that the matter was already being handled.
“I am aware of the efforts being made to revive the company and return business activities to the factory and that is why we invited journalists to a tour of the facility. Efforts will be sustained to ensure that the company begins operations again soon enough.”
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