By Samuel Ogenyi, Uyo
Indegenes of Akwa Ibom have decried the state government lack of thoroughness in the establishment of the 11,000 hectare coconut plantation meant to service the state government coconut refinery at Mkpat Enin local council.
They have also lamented the inability of the state government to make due it’s earlier promise of commencing the production of Coconut oil in its Coconut refinery.
They argued that the state government was not thorough in the cultivation of the coconut plants since they are yet to start feeding the completed refinery with coconut, four years after they were planted.
This is contrary to promises by Governor Udom Emmanuel during the groundbreaking of the stte coconut refinery in 2017 that the 11,000 hectare plantation, lying across three local councils of Mkpat Enin, Eastern Obollo and Ikot Abasi would be ready to feed the refinery in less than three years.
Observers are of the opinion that this may have been caused by inadequate soil analysis by the relevant government agencies and promoters of the project or there was no adequate supervision of the plantation by officials.
Another group of opinion suggested that the government may have been decieved into believing that the coconuts would be ready for harvesting within a short time inorder for the promoters to get the state government to back their proposal.
Government had said that two million coconut stands were planted initially, a figure that has also come under scrutiny, and even at that sources say the plants could not grow as anticipated.
It was gathered that this forced the management of the plantation to plant another set after it was discovered that the soil was not fertile enough and the specie planted was not of the desired variety.
It was also gathered that the state government was dissapointed with the management of the plantation by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Direct Investment.
The current healthy state of the plantation it was gathered is as a result of the management of the plantation been directly handled and supervised by the state Ministry of Agriculture under the supervision of Dr Glory Edet.
The plants are however not expected to start producing coconut before 2023, further delaying the anticipated commencent of production of coconut oil by the refinery.
But the state government did not attribute the delay in the production of coconut oil by the refinery on the immaturity of the coconut plants, but rather attributed the delay on the outbreak of COVID-19
Governor Udom Emmanuel said this when he formally received the official gazette for the approval for 50,000 hectares Liberty Oil and Gas Free Zone in the state by a delegation from the Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA), led by its Managing Director, Mr. Umana Okon Umana in Uyo last week..
Emmanuel said the pandemic and it’s associated movement restrictions stalled the movement of expatriates and equipment acquired for the project and assured Akwa Ibom people of its commencement once the dreaded pandemic is abated.
In the meantime, it was gathered that inorder to augument possible shortfall from the state owned plantation whenever the refinery would be ready to commence production, government has began the distribution seedlings to schools and organisations in the state.
Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr Glory Edet, said the government was ready to support different organisations as part of efforts to increase the production level of coconut in the state.
“The ministry of agriculture is poised to encourage individuals, organisations, institutions and corporate bodies to contribute to the collaborative effort of massive production of coconuts and its value chains towards production lines of the coconut oil factory in the state.” Edet said.
The state flagged off its coconut oil refinery in 2017. The factory, believed to be the only one in the country, is located at Mkpat Enin local government of the state, and is said to have a projected capacity of processing about one million coconuts a day, but would commence with a capacity of 300,000 coconuts daily.
Besides its wide applications in food processing and pharmaceuticals, coconut oil is used as raw material for the production of soap and as a medium in the paint and varnish industries.
It is also used in the manufacture of detergents, surfactants, emulsifiers and pesticides and sells higher than crude oil when measured in barrels, providing immense economic opportunities for investors, experts say.
