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Enugu and Ebonyi states are pushing to revive moribund industries and establish new ones to create jobs and expand their economies, while Anambra has chosen a different path, preferring to provide infrastructure and incentives for private investors rather than return to state-owned enterprises.
Stakeholders in Enugu and Ebonyi, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said bringing abandoned factories back to life could create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, stimulate local economies and improve internally generated revenue.
In Enugu, Governor Peter Mbah’s administration has already revived the state-owned Niger Gas Ltd, which had been moribund for more than 35 years, while efforts to resuscitate Sunrise Flour Mills, Enugu United Palm Products Ltd and the 10,000-hectare Enugu Tribu Songhai Farms are at various stages.
Niger Gas, established by the defunct Eastern Region government, has resumed production of acetylene, nitrogen, medical oxygen and welding/process oxygen, opening employment opportunities across distribution, fabrication, transportation and supply chains.
The state is also working to revive Sunrise Flour Mill in Emene after signing a N40 billion Memorandum of Understanding with JELFAH Group. The facility had remained moribund for more than 40 years.
When fully operational, the mill is expected to produce flour, semolina and wheat products and create jobs across agriculture, transportation, distribution and other associated value chains.
Similarly, the government signed a N100 billion deal with Pragmatic Palms Limited in May 2024 to revive Enugu United Palm Products Ltd after about 35 years of inactivity.
Plans include expanding its 6,700-hectare palm plantation to at least 20,000 hectares within five years, with more than 3,500 direct and indirect jobs projected across the palm oil value chain.
At the Enugu Tribu Songhai Farms in Ezeagu Local Government Area, access roads have been rehabilitated and 54 fish ponds constructed, while work is ongoing on piggeries, poultry units, water systems, residential facilities and training centres.
The administration has also supported privately owned ANAMMCO Limited through automobile training for thousands of youths and the repair of broken-down mass transit buses and other transport-related projects.
Community leader John Egbo said the revival represented a major turnaround for facilities that had deteriorated after years of abandonment.
“Before now, the premises of these industries were overgrown with grasses and taken over by rodents, while men of the underworld use them as their criminal hideout,” he said.
President of the 9th Mile Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Leonard Ugwu, said the administration was attempting to recover years of lost economic opportunities through industrial revival and expansion.
“The governor is matching his administration’s ambitious economic growth with verifiable actions, especially in the revival of the moribund industries and ensuring their multiplier effects on the majority,” Ugwu said.
In neighbouring Ebonyi, the government is pursuing a similar industrialisation drive, including plans for a new cement factory at Nkalagu after encountering difficulties in efforts to reactivate the old Nigerian Cement Company (NIGERCEM).
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The state appropriated N150 billion for the proposed cement factory in its 2026 budget.
Ebonyi State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ogugua Egwu, said the plan could widen employment opportunities and strengthen the state’s economy if fully implemented.
“We are comfortable with the desire to expand the work space but do not know why the process is slow.
“But the moment they become a reality, we will be glad to ensure that the right persons are engaged to prosper the industries and ensure workers are not shortchanged,” he said.
Director-General of the state Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency, Stephen Odo, said plans were also underway to revive Ezzamgbo Pipe Production Company, Abakaliki Rice Mill and other production facilities.
According to him, revitalising the industries would diversify employment beyond the civil and public services and encourage greater private-sector participation in job creation.
But Anambra State is taking a markedly different approach.
Commissioner for Information and Value Reorientation, Law Mefor, said Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration had no plans to revive moribund state-owned industries, preferring instead to create an enabling environment for private capital.
“The economic and development philosophy of the governor does not favour state-owned corporations,” Mefor said.
“He has insisted that before he can go that route, there should be evidence of such an investment that is thriving anywhere.”
Instead, the state is developing the Anambra Aerotropolis, an aviation-driven industrial cluster with a cargo airport at its core, while the Anambra Mixed Industrial City under construction has secured Free Trade Zone status.
Mefor said Soludo’s strategy was for government to act as an enabler rather than directly run businesses.
“The emphasis is on providing electricity, gas, security and other enablers that support private sector-driven economy,” he said.
The contrasting approaches leave the three South-East states pursuing the same broad objective of industrialisation through different routes: Enugu and Ebonyi are seeking to breathe life into abandoned industrial assets alongside new investments, while Anambra is betting on infrastructure and a business-friendly environment to allow private enterprise take the lead.
