Maazi Obinna Agommuo, The Executive Director of ESGADIA on the 6th of October led the Nigerian famous and foremost Tyre manufacturer, DN Tyre & Rubber PLC – DNTR (formerly Dunlop Nigeria PLC) led by its Group Managing Director, Dr. Kolapo Popoola and the Executive Chairman of Angelcom Resources Limited, Chief Kenneth Onuoma for a presentation before The Executive Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma and his Exco, at the Government House, Owerri Imo State, Nigeria.
The Executive Governor of Imo State, His Excellency Senator Hope Uzodinma flanked on his right by His Deputy, Prof. Placid Njoku and his left side by the Group Managing Director of DN Tyre and Rubber PLC (Formerly Dunlop Nigeria PLC) and Maazi Obinna Agommuo, the Executive Director of ESGADIA.
Present at the meeting were:
- The Executive Governor of Imo State State, His Excelency Senator Hope Uzodinma.
- Deputy Governor of Imo State, His Excellency Prof. Placid Njoku
- Chief of Staff to the Governor
- Secretary to the State Government (SSG)
- Speaker, Imo State House of Assembly
- Commissioners, SSAs and SAs
Addressing members of the Imo State Government present in that occasion, The Group Managing Director of DN Tyre and Rubber PLC (Formerly Dunlop Nigeria PLC), Dr. Kolapo Popoola said “it’s worthy of note that there’s not a single Tyre Manufacturing Plant in the whole of West Africa therefore the Market potential for tyre Manufacturing in the region is huge.’’
Dr. Popoola went further to explain that “Nigeria alone has the capacity to host Four Tyre plants of say Three Million Tyres each per annum and even at that, Nigeria would still be importing tyres to meet citizens demand for Tyre.”
On his part, the Executive Director of ESGADIA, Maazi Obinna Agommuo stated that having traded on Rubber and Rubber Chemicals for over 20 years during which his company serviced the then Dunlop Nigeria PLC with Raw materials, he knows that Nigeria and indeed the entire region has the potential to own as many Tire plants as possible as the major Raw Materials for Tyre; Natural Rubber and Carbon Black are readily available in Nigeria and in Africa. He however regretted that the NNPC Carbon Black plant of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC) whose Carbon Black was regarded as one of the best in the world and the only Carbon Black Petrochemical Plant in the West African Region has been abandoned and unattended to by the Federal Government of Nigeria. He then urged the Executive Governor of Imo State, His Excellency Senator Hope Uzodinma to use his position as a Leader of the ruling Party in Nigeria; APC in the South East region of Nigeria to ensure that the Federal Government of Nigeria/Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) fixes the Carbon Black Plant of the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited. Maazi Obinna Agommuo went further to explain that Carbon Black is minimum of 30% composition of Tyre and has several applications including, Footwears and general Rubber works, Plastics, Masterbach, Black Paints, Black Pigments, Black Ink etc.
Reacting to the presentation by DNTR/ESGADIA team, the Governor was delighted and expressed his willingness to work with the Team to ensure a Tyre Manufacturing plant is established in Imo State as the state reserves the enabling environment including the source of raw materials from their Natural Rubber Plantation to operate a sustainable Tyre Manufacturing Plant, promising that he will try his best to speak to those in the appropriate quarter on the need to fix the Carbon Black plant of the WRPC as the team had requested of him.