By Chimaobi Nwaiwu
NNEWI — South-East governors have been urged to support and patronise factories and companies established by indigenes of the zone to generate employment, tackle insecurity and unemployment, and accelerate regional development.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Audi Company Limited, Dr Clem Ifezue, made the call in an exclusive interview with Vanguard in Awka, Anambra State.
Ifezue, an Anambra-born industrialist, said indigenous industries had the capacity to provide jobs for thousands of unemployed people and contribute significantly to the economic growth of the South-East if given adequate government support and patronage.
He said Audi Company Limited was a technical products and services marketing company registered in Nigeria, with a vision to assemble leading global brands and make them readily available to Nigerians.
According to him, the company has been operating for over 20 years, with branches across the country’s regions, including Enugu, and partnerships with several local and international companies.
Highlighting areas where South-East governors could partner with the company, Ifezue said its operations covered automobile assembly, power solutions, marine logistics and engineering works.
He explained that the company’s power solutions included generators powered by Perkins and York engines of British origin, as well as solar systems, hybrid inverters, lithium batteries and solar panels.
“When I say power solution, it means that we have our own brand of generators, using Perkins and York engines, both of United Kingdom origin.
“We have been in existence for a while and Nigerians have been enjoying the quality of our products and can attest to that.
“We have our own brand of solar system, we have our inverter which is hybrid, we have our battery which is lithium and we have our solar panels, with well-trained engineers and technicians working for us. We are a big employer of labour,” he said.
On marine logistics, Ifezue said the company had partnerships in boat construction and the provision of marine facilities for transportation, fishing and movement of goods, among other applications.
He also disclosed that the company was involved in engineering and construction projects for state governments and private individuals.
Ifezue, who is also the Director-General of the Mines Crafts Registered Association of Nigeria, said South-East governors could leverage the company’s expertise to attract investments and accelerate infrastructure development in the region.
The former General Manager of John Holt Plc lamented the difficulties of establishing and sustaining businesses in Nigeria, attributing some of the challenges to what he described as inadequate government emphasis on supporting indigenous enterprises.
He said local companies often competed with foreign operators who had limited investments and business establishments in Nigeria but were still able to secure contracts and patronage.
“We compete with a lot of people who do not have anything here in Nigeria, people who just come with one briefcase, do business and go, but we are established here.
“That is why we said we represent the best brands. Together with Mikano Motors, we assemble cars, sell and maintain the cars in Nigeria,” he said.
He acknowledged the Federal Government’s efforts to reduce high bank interest rates, but argued that more deliberate policies were needed to enable indigenous companies to compete effectively and provide quality products at affordable prices.
According to him, government remains the biggest spender in Nigeria through its activities at the federal, state and local government levels and could significantly influence the growth of local industries through its procurement decisions.
He cited the purchase of official vehicles, equipment for government agencies and vehicles for public officers as areas where governments could patronise locally assembled products.
Ifezue also referenced the Ebonyi State Government’s provision of vehicles to doctors serving in rural communities as an example of how government procurement could support public service delivery and local businesses.
“If government is sincere with their preaching of patronising Made-in-Nigeria goods, it will be a good thing for the economy.
“It is by so doing that our competitors will begin to think of setting up plants here, but as far as the government is ignoring indigenous companies and patronising those that are not established here, that campaign will not be successful,” he said.
He urged governments at all levels to extend their patronage beyond automobile assembly plants to other products manufactured locally, arguing that such a policy would stimulate investment, create employment and strengthen the economy.
Ifezue expressed optimism that a coordinated partnership between South-East governors and indigenous businesses would encourage more investors to establish factories in the region.
“If the South-East governors can come together and form an alliance with us, more industries will be attracted and located here, our people will be employed and more development will come.
“Location of industries goes with numbers. If we are assured of high patronage, more people will set up factories and our people stand to gain. No investor will like to invest where he cannot make a profit,” he said.
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