The Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Mr. Kamar Bakrin, has informed the management of the Dangote Sugar Refinery (DSR) that its planned target for land under cane in 2024 falls short of the Council’s expectation.
The NSDC boss who made this known in a roundtable discussion with the DSR management on Thursday during his visit to the factory in Numan, Adamawa state, said to fulfill the overall mandate of the federal government in 2024, the Council would expect the factory to produce at least 50,000 tonnes of sugar and a minimum of 13,000 hectares of land under cane
In its response, the hosts agreed to to work round the clock to meet the target as far as the Council would on behalf of the federal government provide the enabling environment, ensure market discipline and fix other obstacles that had been identified in previous interactions.
Emphasizing that this is a task that must be diligently done, Mr. Bakrin noted that all operators must turn a new page this year and in subsequent years since questions are already coming from higher authorities about the fulfillment of the Backward Integration Plan (BIP).
“The reason why we have come with this force is because we take very seriously the issue of the Sugar Estate and God willing, we hope that this would bring a turning point in Nigeria going forward.
“The good news is that the chairman of the group has given me personal assurance one-on-one and it has been reiterated by the GMD and the Executive Director, the commitment that is being made by the group towards backward integration.
“We need serious alignment between us and operators in terms of the goals, target and where we need to be. We know you have your own plans and we need to sit down and discuss our plans with your expectations and whatever is required to get there. We are not going to be making empty promises, we already know in some specific areas that are fully without our jurisdiction and we can talk about that as required especially the Nigeria Sugar Institute (NSI) and how you can support the industry. It is very important to establish the context, this is serious work and that is why I have taken time to come myself.
“Stepping back to the issues of alignment, to be very honest our expectation is a lot bigger than your current plan and I have to be absolutely honest. There is a lot of pressure from the Presidency down to the National Assembly about the issues of the BIP, questions are being asked about what has been the benefit from the operators, what has the country gotten in return? This is not time for audit or investigation, it is for us to demonstrate that we can really see you as partner to deliver this. We are not going to make unreasonable demands but we will be very aggressive in terms of our target and we believe that if anybody can do it, it is the DSR. We expect that this issue that has been brought up around market discipline which are some of the things that are militating against performance, we are addressing them and you will see results,” the NSDC boss said.
The NSDC team also witnessed an annual ceremony organised by the DSR to honour and motivate the most productive outgrowers in the area.
The ES arrived the Refinery in Numan in the company of Mariya Dangote, the Executive Director in the Organisation, who joined others in taking him round the expansive 32,000-hectare establishment.
Mr Bakrin and his team took advantage of the tour to ask relevant questions from their hosts about their operations, challenges and what the Council could do to lessen their burden.
In the ES delegation from the Council were Director, Finance and Accounts, Alhaji Auwalu Abubakar Shira; Director, Executive Secretary’s Office, Mallam Ahmed M. Waziri; Acting Director, Policy, Planning Research and Statistics, Mallam Babangida Damare; Acting Head, Technical Services, Alhaji Bala Ladan; Interim Coordinator of the Nigeria Sugar Institute (NSI), Ilorin, Dr. Abiodun Adeyemo, Deputy Director, Executive Secretary’s Office, Mr Chris Mbamalu; Assistant Director in charge of Human Resource Management, Madam Okida Kaka-Senchi, and others.
