▪︎ NSDC CEO, Kamar Barkin, and Committee Committee Chairman, Hon Dolapo Enitan Badru
The House of Representatives Committee on Industry has agreed to amend the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) Act which is hindering investment in the sugar industry.
The Executive Secretary/CEO of NSDC Mr Kamar Bakrin, said that the ammendments will accelerated sugar project development in 2025.
Bakrin disclosed this in a keynote address at the retreat themed, “Creating Synergy for Nigeria’s Sugar Industry Development,” organised for the House of Committee members in Calabar, Cross River state.
He said that before the 2025 plans and the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP) II can be achieved, certain loopholes in the establishment law must be addressed. He said: “Our focus in 2024 has been on resetting the agenda and realigned the industry to the high expectations of Nigerians.
For us, 2025 is the year of acceleration. This is not a choice but a must, given our macroeconomic realities and the tremendous benefits we know are possible from the cultivation and processing of sugarcane.
“Our key priorities for 2025 are to (i) Accelerate the pace of project development; (ii) Facilitate investment of $5 billion into the Sector; (iii) Ensure our priority greenfield projects are ready for investment; and (iv) Strengthen NSDC’s capacity to develop the sector.“
“We have set out the initiatives to be executed in 2025 that will drive the realisation of these objectives.
One of these key initiatives is the amendment of the NSDC Act to address loopholes created by conflicting policies and codify its market protection provisions.
“This is a key requirement that emerges in all our conversations with our current and potential investors and financiers.
As usual, we shall be counting on the House Committee for their guidance and support in making this happen in 2025
. “We are most grateful for the continued intervention and direction which this event is privileged to receive from Mr. President which has resulted in the resolution of key issues which were hindering its performance and provides investors with the confidence that the Nigerian Sugar Industry is a viable investment option,” he said.
The Committee Chairman, Hon Dolapo Enitan Badru, commended the NSDC boss and his management team for the ‘impressive’ work they have done in the last one year. He expressed the commitment of the Committee to the institutional steps that must be taken to achieve the Council’s 2025 sugar project development plan.
He stated that properly codifying the NSMP into law is required to improve investors confidence and address the lacuna in the existing law that enables some operators get away without contributing to the realisation of the vision for the sugar industry, adding that all the loopholes will be addressed in the proposed amendment of the NSDC Act.