General News
Sona Group Seeks Enhanced Palliatives for Industrial Sector
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Sona Group Nigeria has re-echoed the need for improved infrastructural to serve as palliatives for Nigeria’s industrialization.
The industrial sector is hugely impacted by dilapidated road and other logistics quagmire, poor power supply, multiple taxations, insecurity, high cost of production, to name a few.
The Group comprising of Euro Global Foods and Distilleries Ltd; Food, Agro and Allied Industries Ltd; Golden Auto Engineering and Transport Co. Ltd., Shongai Packaging Industry Ltd., Shongai Technologies Ltd., Sona Agro Allied Foods Ltd., Sona Group Nigeria Ltd., Sona Industrial Gases Ltd and Techblow Nigeria Limited, said enhanced infrastructure will not only bring succour to the nation’s manufacturing sector, rather will create enabling ground for job creation.
Mr. Peter Akinola Oyaniyi, group executive director for the Group, while speaking to journalists at their office in Ogun State, at the weekend, said that Sona has been apt in industrialization of Nigeria using technology and home grown raw materials, adding that the nation’s economic buoyancy revolves round functional and productive industries.
Oyaniyi Said, “We believe that industrialization remains the best option for solving the country’s youth unemployment, and the right path to national greatness. In Sona Group Nigeria, we see industrialization as the key that will free Nigeria from further retrogression. To achieve that, we have to improve on the existing infrastructure as a nation”.
He added that the Group which has been in operation for over three decades in Nigeria is notable for keeping to the Government’s regulations and international best practices, and has over the years earned a reputation of ‘Turn around Experts’ in Nigeria.
“Sona Group, Nigeria is one of Nigeria’s fastest growing Groups. The Group is presently in the business of manufacturing Plastic and Glass Container. It started business in Nigeria decades ago. The Group’s strategy has been to acquire existing sick units and turn them around. After the unit is acquired, we bring in new investments, modern technology, state-of-art machines and modern management techniques that help to turn the business perspective”.
Nodding in agreement to Oyaniyi’s prognosis, Mr. Subramanian Murugesan, managing director, Sona Agro Allied Foods Limited, said that Nigeria pursues industrial policy that is innovation-driven to foster skills upgrade, enhance industrial growth and produce world class exports, it must make conscious efforts to address challenges before the sector.
According to him, the bottlenecks experienced at both the sea and airports should be addressed, maintaining that, “roads need to be improved to enable companies meet up with supplies or demands of the market too and help in the reduction of costs on maintenance of vehicles.
“The truth is that these costs are transferred to the customers; sometimes jerking up the cost of goods by about 8%, compared to 2% obtainable in other markets. We believe that as a developing economy the infrastructure need to be improved.
On Sona Agro Allied Foods Limited activities in the market, he said they have well laid out plan for continuous expansion to meet the ever expanding requirement of the Nigerian snacks market.
Murugesan said, “Presently, the Company is well managed by professional managerial talent, the best of the industry in Nigeria, both expatriate and local managers. The quality standards of our products are of highest level meeting specifications laid out by NAFDAC and SON agencies of Nigeria”.
Sona Agro Allied Foods Limited also manufacture other snacks such as Cereal based cheese balls snacks, extruded snacks, health snacks bars for healthy conscious people.
On his part, Mr. Katikala Ramanjananeyulu, managing director of Sona Industrial Gases Limited, a leading name in the Industrial Gases sector in Nigeria, deals in Oxygen, Nitrogen, Acetylene, Medical Oxygen and Argon gases, and recently introduced the other gases such as Carbon Dioxide, Helium, Amonia, Cooking Gas, Calibration and all mixture gases.
“With our fleet of vehicles, we reach out to all our customers needing industrial gases in compressed form or Liquid as they demand,” he said.
Ramanjananeyulu said that the Company established in a secured environment, invests in R&D and hopes to achieve breakthrough in manufacturing resources through the introduction of newly acquired plants, which will bring total modification of the Acetylene production facility and currently boasts of 170 customers in Nigeria, while looking out for others to give discount on medical oxygen as life saving gas to supply hospitals in Nigeria as part of its corporate social responsibilities (CSR).
Challenges facing their operations, he said, include, high rate of customs duty, cumbersome procedure for clearance of imported materials, high cost of importation due to the devaluation of Naira, among others.
There was a presentation by Techblow Nigeria Limited which produces all kinds of blow moulding products ranging from 500ml to 50 litre Plastic Jerry Cans, Plastic Coolers, Cosmetic Jars, Pharma Bottles, Yoghurt Bottles, and other containers to cater to the needs of the Foods, Beverages and Chemicals industries, and other retail sectors.
Also, Shongai Packaging Industry Ltd, incorporated in 1977, and today produces rugged industrial pallets and rated as among Nigeria’s 50 fastest growing companies.
The company was initially conceived to produce plastic crates and beer labels; but now mulls mainly four (4) manufacturing division, Injection Moulding Division; Blow Moulding Division (Extrusion Blow & Injection Blow); Label Printing Division and Crate printing /Container Printing Division.
Mr. Sudhanusu Shina, managing director, Food, Agro & Allied Industries Limited, said the Comapny is one of the most modern malting plants in Nigeria to process Raw Sorghum into Sorghum Malt and Malt Derivatives.
“We produce a range of quality sorghum malt and malt extract, Distillery, Confectionery and Malted Food Industries.
“Our commitment to customers’ satisfaction, and to adopt latest technology in malting earned recognition as a leader in the industry within short period of going into production. Adherence to strict quality control and continued development helped us to get of ISO 9001:2008 Certification in 2010”.
Re-emphasizing the manufacturing expert’s advocacy, Mr. Felix Aighobahi, the Group’s sales director, said that the country’s policy should include the establishment of many-side economic structure, the build-up of its own independent and solid bases for raw materials, modernization of all sectors of the national economy and the training of its own technical cadre.
Federal government recently received a proposed protocol agreement from India that could pave the way for agricultural cooperation between the two countries.
Abishek Singh, India’s high commissioner to Nigeria, announced the proposal recently n Abuja during the India-Nigeria Business Forum on Agriculture and Allied Sectors.
New Delhi’s proposed cooperation would support Nigeria’s food security efforts, with the goal of reducing post-harvest losses by nearly 50% and expanding agricultural processing.
It would also cover technology transfers, mechanization, financing solutions and capacity building.
Abuja has opened similar discussions with China.
Only recently, Mukhtar Muhammed, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology, said Nigeria wanted to deepen scientific and technological cooperation with Beijing in agriculture.
The discussions with China have focused on developing low-cost, solar-powered cold storage facilities and transferring food-processing technologies.
Nigeria, also wants to work with Chinese research institutes to develop infrastructure that can improve the preservation of perishable products.
Nigeria’s outreach to its Asian partners addresses a major problem for the agricultural sector.
The Bank of Agriculture (BoA) estimates that Africa’s most populous country loses 30 million to 40 million tons of food each year before it reaches consumers.
Those losses are worth an average of about N3.5 trillion ($2.5 billion) annually, according to data the institution presented at a workshop in Kaduna in July 2026.
Perishable products are particularly vulnerable, according to local media reports, with fruits and vegetables accounting for an estimated 40% to 50% of total losses.
The government has already launched its own response to the problem.
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) indicted the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and other ministries over administrative lapses that allowed the fictitious Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC) to operate.
Musa Aliyu, chairman, ICPC, stated that NITDA, alongside the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), the Budget Office, and other bodies, failed to carry out adequate due diligence and standard operating procedures.
ICPC said however, clarified that the findings pointed to severe internal control weaknesses and administrative negligence rather than active official complicity by NITDA and the other affected agencies.
The briefing followed a 30-day investigation ordered by the president on July 7 into allegations surrounding the purported presidential council.
The commission also cleared the presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) of any wrongdoing but blamed institutional lapses in several ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
Aliyu said investigators established that Adeniyi Adeyemi, the director-general, was never appointed by the federal government and that the PFIPC had no legal existence.
“As you may recall, on the 7th of July, Mr. President directed the ICPC to conduct an investigation into the fake Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council and submit a report within 30 days,” he said.
“Today, exactly within the stipulated period, we have submitted an interim report based on our interactions with all stakeholders involved.”
According to Aliyu, Tinubu directed the commission to make its findings public in the interest of transparency and accountability.
He said the investigation found that Adeyemi’s purported appointment letter was forged.
“It has been established that Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was never appointed by the Federal Government or any authority whatsoever,” he said.
“The Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council, which sometimes they called the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, was never established by any law, executive order or any valid instrument of government.
“The appointment letter presented by Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew was completely forged alongside similar documents used to perpetuate the illegal activities of the fake agency.”
Aliyu stated that a purported government gazette used to legitimise the organisation was also fabricated.
“If you recall, there was a gazette which he used to support the fake agency. That gazette is an illegal document that never passed through the processes prescribed by law,” he stated.
“Our investigation found that the office used by the fake agency was the office of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council. The office was broken into and access was gained illegally. That was how he was able to operate from there.”
Aliyu also revealed that investigators uncovered two additional fictitious government agencies allegedly created by the suspect — the FCT Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) and the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency/Public-Private Partnership (FIPA-PPP).
According to him, fake legislative instruments were used to create the agencies and open bank accounts.
Despite the elaborate scheme, the ICPC chairman said the investigation found no evidence that federal government funds were disbursed to the fake council.
“Our investigation found that no funds of the federal government were approved or disbursed to the fake PFIPC,” he said.
“We also discovered no weaknesses in the systems of the State House or the Central Bank of Nigeria during our investigation. The fake appointment letter did not originate from the presidency.
“Our investigation found that some public officers failed to carry out due diligence and failed to comply with standard operating procedures in their ministries and departments. That gave him the opportunity to carry out these illegal acts.”
Nigeria tax system is build on taxing prosperity not poverty, according to Dr. Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS).
Dr. Zacch Adedeji, executive chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service
Adedeji, also dismissed the insinuation that the government’s tax reform is aimed at extracting money from Nigerians .
He said the essence of reform is creating an economic environment where individuals and businesses can prosper.
Dr. Adedeji made the clarifications on Sunday night while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today, where he defended the administration’s tax reforms and addressed concerns over rising government revenue amid the economic hardship facing Nigerians.
According to him, the government’s objective is to tax the fruits of investment rather than the investment itself.
“For us at Nigeria Tax, we are not there to extract. Our focus is not revenue. I don’t want to tax poverty. I’m to tax the fruit, not the seed, and I’m to tax the return, not investment.”
Adedeji explained that the government would generate more revenue as businesses became more profitable, without necessarily increasing the tax burden on individuals and companies.
He said a company that made N100 in profit could generate N30 in tax revenue for the government, but if its profit increased to N200 or N300, government revenue would rise accordingly.
“So, if I want to make more, I must work for you to make more. And that is why it is in the best interest of us in Nigeria Revenue Service that businesses are doing well, individuals are doing well,” he said.
He said the approach was consistent with President Bola Tinubu’s economic agenda, which seeks to remove barriers to investment and create a more conducive environment for businesses to operate and expand.
Adedeji cited reforms in the electricity sector as part of the government’s efforts to stimulate economic activity.
He noted that the Electricity Act had devolved powers to state governments to generate, transmit and distribute electricity, arguing that improved power supply would boost production and productivity across the economy.
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