EBELE JONATHAN FARM PRODUCTS HIT THE MARKET...

 

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo retired from the military to start Obasanjo Farms Ota while General Abdulsalami Abubakar established Maizube Farms, Minna, Niger State and that was indeed one of the plans of the immediate past President, Goodluck Jonathan. Not that it stopped at the level of planning. Indeed, he went ahead and initiated the plans that led to the establishment of the Ebele Jonathan Farm. We were able to establish that SCC (Nig) Ltd, an Israeli construction company is handling former President Jonathan’s farm project. It would be recalled that SCC (Nig) Ltd handled the construction of Maizube Farms, Minna for General Abubakar shortly before and after he left office as head of state.Indeed, the construction company is currently having its headquarters in a house it allegedly built for the former military leader in Jabi area of Abuja.

The construction company moved to site in February 2011. Although the farm located behind the Airforce Base along Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja through Karmo area of the Federal Capital Territory was designed to be small, the design has since been expanded. It was gathered that the farm has a modern diary, orchard, fruit juice factory, fish pond, crocodile pond, an estate and two reservoirs among others.

Already imported crocodiles, water melon, mango and two other fruits from Israel are in the farm.

As at the last time we visited the farm which was about a year ago we were informed that ‘’work on the fish pond had been on for the past six months. It was designed to be the biggest in West Africa’’. According to the workers we met on site then, ‘It is likely going to be more than a standard football pitch, we are having four. Every week, we use eight trucks of cement, you can do the calculation, our truck carries only 600 bags of cement, and right now we have not achieved 20 percent on the job but work is progressing.

Curiously, SCC (Nig) Ltd has been having a good outing in Nigeria. The company won the Karshi and Karmu satellite town infrastructural development project in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The project has virtually been abandoned. The company also won the Gurara 85 km road project, Kubwa satellite town infrastructure project, Owena project, Ilesa Dam project, Katshimbila, Taraba State project and Otrukpo Dam project in Benue State.

A source said the company expended over N2 Billion on materials alone on the project. It was silent on the value of the project.

Those in the know, however, informed us that the fish from the ponds are already in the market and so also are some other dairy and fruit items.

Since Goodluck Jonathan left office, he has not paid a visit to the farm and the people who own the land whichw as acquired for the farm have been waiting patiently for that day when he would visit so that they could unburden their hearts to him. one of their problems is that though their community is located right across the Ebele Farms, where there is electricity twenty four hours a day, they do not enjoy such a luxury. Indeed, they have never had electricity in their settlement. The sight of the soldiers armed to the teeth, guarding the farm is itself an ever present sign that the farm is a different world contrasting with their settlement.