Day Mr. Tomato brought Aisha Buhari to Lagos

OndoReporter | Day Mr. Tomato brought Aisha Buhari to Lagos



Chief Eric Umeofia, the CEO, Erisco Foods,
believes the best option opened to Nigerians at
this critical stage of our economic
development is to look inward through
manufacturing which to him is the only way
out.

He believes if the government supports
manufacturing that Nigerians will be surprised
at what happens in this country in the next ten
years.

He said “Erisco Foods Limited’s mission is
simply to help the economy, to help Nigeria
control our own economy. We deal in the
manufacturing of tomato paste, to help stop
the importation of fake and substandard
tomato paste from China that is actually
damaging both our economy and health. We
want to be exporting tomato paste from
Nigeria. We have the capacity and all it takes
to achieve it. And by the grace of God, we are
determined to do that.”

He said although it hasn’t been a smooth
journey as the manufacturing sector is riddled
with a plethora of problems such as power,
insecurity, lack of infrastructure and poor
government policy.

“The system has not been fair to us over the
years, because when others were given undue
advantage and waivers to import finished
products, we refused to join in the destruction
of the Nigerian economy, rather we believed in
Nigeria and her potentials from day one; hence
all our product lines are made in Nigeria.

So, since the coming of this government under
the leadership of President Buhari, Umeofia will
not hold any discussion without praising the
administration for taking the bold step that will
encourage local manufacturing.

Last week Thursday was an opportunity to do
so again when the wife of the President, Aisha
Muhammadu Buhari, commissioned Eric
Umeofia’s 450, 000 metric tonnes Erisco
Foods’ Tomato Paste factory in Lagos.

“I must be quick to say here that this rare feat
has been made possible only because of the
fantastic policies of the present government
ably led by our visionary and highly patriotic
and incorruptible President Muhammadu
Buhari . We have continued to salute the
courage and vision of Mr. President and Vice-
President Yemi Osibajo for taking the bold step
to introduce FOREX restrictions on 41 items
including tomato paste concentrate.

“This bold step apart from saving our scarce
foreign exchange will compel Nigerian to go
back to the basics of eating our own home-
grown food which is better, healthier and more
economically sound for us as a people in the
long run as many other countries do.

He added “Erisco Foods Limited has an
installed production capacity of 450,000 metric
tonnes per annum in our Lagos factory alone
(the biggest in Africa and 4th Largest in the
World) with robust plans for backward
integration that have been ongoing over the
past 3 years, we challenged ourselves to
provide leadership and fast-track our backward
integration programme by developing a
technology and process that will synchronize
with our existing machines to produce tomato
paste directly from fresh tomatoes to tomato
pastes, ketchups, etc. in response to President
Buhari’s call for Nigerians to look inwards.”

Umeofia said the benefits of the Erisco Foods
Revolution in tomato Paste come in many
wonderful streams. “Nigerians will be able to
eat fresher and healthier tomato paste proudly
grown and made in Nigeria. Since tomatoes
are in rich source of Lycopene (which is a
major anti-oxidant) adults and children alike
will be stronger and better equipped with the
nutrients to face the challenges of personal
and nation-building. As we know, healthy
person is a happy nation!
“Secondly, The Erisco Foods Revolution in
Tomato Paste production will stop the annual
wastages of over 75% of fresh tomatoes
across Nigeria. .

He said with the good policy of the present
administration maintained that there will be
nothing like tomato glut anywhere in Nigeria in
the next two years, “we as off-taker will
produce and process to meet our local
demands and export to earn foreign exchange
provided government continues to support
manufacturing.

“Just before this administration came on
board, Erisco Foods was on the verge of
shutting down the factory or relocate. We had
continued to endure losses upon losses of over
N2.5billion with attendant mounting bank
charges during 5 years of our operations and it
came to a peak in the first and second quarter
of 2015 when the regulators looked the other
way while criminally-minded foreigners in
collaboration with some wicked Nigerians
flooded our dear country markets with almost
300 substandard brands of tomato pastes
from Asia!.

“Sadly we were busy exporting our job
opportunities to China and other parts of Asia
while millions of Nigerian youth are here
struggling with the pains of unemployment.
“We have huge stocks of finished products
worth billions of Naira in our warehouses
which we are not selling due to dumping of
these substandard brands of tomato paste
from China that are cheap and filled with
starch and colours. We are pleading for the
Government to create policies and competitive
markets that will enable us to compete and
have the markets to sell our products and pay
our bank loan.

He called on President Buhari “to ban the
importation of tomato paste, without waste of
time. We can do without the imports. We don’t
need it. It will create opportunities for people.
Only the tomato paste industry can create jobs
for more than one million people in this
country, from farmers to processors to
marketers.”

“Nigeria is uniquely blessed with a special
climatic condition which allows us to grow
tomato more than twice a year but sadly
Nigeria has remained the biggest tomato paste
importer in the world. I assure you, No nation
can survive the level of dumping of sub-
standard and fake tomato paste and other
food items. After over 50 years of
independence, it is unacceptable that we
continue to import what can be sourced locally
and putting pressure on our foreign exchange
earnings.

While expressing joy at the sacking of some
agencies Directors recently, Umeofia urged the
President to appoint patriotic and God-fearing
Nigerians with the same zeal and vision in
moving Nigeria forward to head NAFDAC.

“we urge the federal Government to as a
matter of national emergency direct all Heads
of various Government Agencies and
parastatals involved in industrial sector to stop
giving undue advantage to ‘briefcase’ foreign
investors who camouflage as industrialists
whose primary interest is to import finished
goods as raw materials without paying taxes
or the relevant customs duties with the aid of
some unscrupulous Nigerian officials who are
always willing to sell their birth right at highest
cost against our National interest.

The Erisco foods boss said the commissioned
factory will save the country and farmers over
75% fresh tomato wastages. “we will eat
better fleshier and healthier tomato pastes,
earn foreign exchange to the country and this
new technology, in the nearest future, Nigeria
will no longer be the major importer of
tomatoes but would now be the major exporter
of tomatoes and other food items all made in
Nigeria from Nigerian soil.