Victor Ogunje in Adi Ekiti
The Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, on Tuesday commissioned Gossy Water production plant, signalling the commencement of full scale production of the popular table water brand, a year after the parent company was liquidated.
Governor Fayemi, who led other dignitaries to commission the plant, said it was regrettable that the Gossy Water Company, which could have been generating revenues for the state, went moribund due to lack of conducive environment for ease of doing business in Ekiti State after he left office in 2014.
The governor recalled that the bottling company was established as a joint business venture under Adeniyi Adebayo, the first civilian governor of the state and the investment “made waves in the market thereby boosting the IGR of the state and creating job opportunities for the citizens”.
He described the revitalisation of the company as another milestone in the state government’s determined efforts to revive moribund projects in Ekiti State.
“I am particularly excited about this development because of its expected multiplier effects on the economic lives of the people and governance in the state. I therefore congratulate Ekiti kete, home and abroad, for the restoration of this company which is an offshoot of one of our most prominent tourist attractions, the Ikogosi Warm Springs,” he said.
While lamenting the neglect of the tourism corridors of Ekiti State by the last administration, the governor said Ikogosi resort has now become “a ghost of its former self and hardly enjoys patronage because of its state of dilapidation”.
Fayemi, however, assured the people that his administration would soon revive the warm spring resort, through private sector investment, and restore it to its pride of place as a first class tourist destination in Africa.
While promising that his government would ensure an enabling environment for businesses to thrive, the governor said his administration has mapped out strategic plans towards the resuscitation of other abandoned and moribund investments in the state.
The governor commended one of the leaders of Ekiti socio-cultural group, Ugbimo Ure Ekiti, Remi Omotoso, for playing a key role in ensuring that the Gossy Water Company returns and called on other Ekiti indigenes to support government in moving the state forward.
In his speech, the Board Chairman of Gossy Warm Spring, Mr Wole Adeyegbe, expressed the readiness of the company to run the Gossy brand profitably and extending the brand to related food and beverage segment.
Adeyegbe added that the company has employed Ekiti indigenes, adding that it is planning to have at least 300 of its direct and indirect staff from the state.
The Group Managing Director of Fountain Holdings Limited, Mr Seyi Ayeleso, thanked Fayemi for working with Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) to restore power to Ikogosi Ekiti and its two neighbouring communities, saying that this would help forestall a re-occurrence of power challenge which was part of the reasons for its liquidation by its owner company, UAC.
