Joy as IDL holds annual awards, rewards distributors

By Zika Bobby

It was payday for distributors of Intercontinental Distillers Limited (IDL), as they were rewarded recently at the company’s annual Distributors’ Awards Ceremony. The event was one in the series in which the company aims to end the eventful year on a high.

The annual ceremony, which held in Abeokuta, Ogun State, was attended by top industry players, with Mrs. Yemisi Adewusi, managing director of YTT Distribution Limited and wife of popular filmmaker, Gbenga Adewusi, emerging as overall best distributor. Her company was closely followed by Emma Ogbata and Sons, which emerged first runner-up, while Ogbohu Enterprises emerged second-runner up. The companies were handed various gifts, having been adjudged as the best performers in the distribution of the company’s range of products. 

Speaking at the gathering, IDL’s managing director, Chief Patrick Anegbe, lamented the inability of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to fund the foreign exchange market to meet import requirements. He expressed regrets that the development had led to the scarcity of vital raw materials, including ethanol, an important component of the distillery industry. He said that had led to both slight increases in prices and scarcity of the products.

Anegbe further lamented that the high cost of imported raw materials arising from the devaluation of the naira informed the hike in the prices of IDL products earlier in the year. He, however he praised government’s efforts at stabilising the naira in recent times.

“This has helped IDL as a company to review downward the prices of its products. I plead with the government to sustain the on-going efforts at stabilising the naira and improve access to forex,” he said.

Mobolaji Alalade, head of marketing, IDL, said that the award ceremony was designed to appreciate the efforts of IDL’s distributors who had played major roles in getting the company’s products to the final consumers.

Mrs. Adewusi, whose YTT Distribution Ltd, was the best overall performer on the night, thanked IDL for the awards, adding that it would spur her organisation to do more in the future.