The Chairman, board of trustees National Natural Rubber Suppliers of Nigeria, Elder Sunny Emekeme has called on the Federal and states government to expedite action and to do everything within their reach to revive the ailing rubber industry which was the major foreign exchange earner to the country.
Elder Emekeme, who doubles as the acting chairman of the group, lamented the sorry state of the rubber industry which both government and farmers had abandoned for other sector of the economy not minding the high demand for rubber products at the international market and the huge money generated from its back home in Nigeria.
The acting chairman who spoke to the press in Sapele,said that the group had put everything in place for the inauguration of its National Executive Officers on the 21st day of September 2011,at 10am Prompt, in Richards Continental hotels/resort(Former IretorHotel) Sapele, Delta State. He said that the incoming executive would be a strong one that would ensure the industry does not go into extinction.
Elder Emekeme said that far back in the 70s there was a rubber boom in the country and Nigerians then were gainfully self employed, either tapping, buying or supplying of rubbers to factories which also gave employment to Nigerians and foreign exchange income to the country through tax money.
He said that government generates huge sum of money from these industries spread across the country, pointing out that he did not understand why Nigerian government is currently spending billions of Naira to curb the excesses of restive youths and militancy, saying that the rubber industry should be revived to enable the teaming youths in the country resort to tapping or buying of rubbers and supplying same to factories.s
The chairman said “sadly enough, Nigeria who provided countries like Indonesia, Cameroon, Gabon, Malaysia rubber seedlings now import rubber from these countries for processing in our local factories at an exorbitant cost”.
He said that despite several efforts made by his association to convince the Delta State government to see while rubber business should be revived, nothing much had been done. He called on government to allocate enough funds to the rubber production sector.
He called on the state government to educate youths in the state to consider the possibility of looking inwards to other sectors of the economy, saying that oil alone could not make the state great.
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