It is estimated that the Rivers State Government may have lost over N96 billion in revenue owing to the low capacity utililization of the multi-billion Naira Cassava Processing Plant in the state.
In 2021, the Rivers State Government commissioned the Cassava Processing Plant located at Afam in Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state. The plant was envisaged to process 45,000 metric tons of cassava tubers to produce 12,500 metric tons of high-quality cassava flour per annum.
The Cassava Processing Plant, a key agricultural asset, was established to address the challenges of value addition of the cassava crop in the value – chain sub sector. The company was inaugurated on May 28, 2021, under a Public-Private partnership venture between Rivers State Government, Shell, Vieux Manioc BV of the Netherlands, and the Netherlands embassy.
At the inauguration of the plant in 2021, economic experts had predicted that about $16million(about N24 billion) annually in taxes could be unlocked for the Rivers State Government with the application of modern technology to manufacture, process and create more added value from cassava.
Moreover, food beverages and pharmaceutical firms in Nigeria, which import starch and glucose, would readily patronize the cassava processing company in Rivers State, which is said to be the biggest plant in West Africa.
Aside from the enormous revenue expected from the plant, it was projected to engage over 3,000 cassava farmers who would feed the plant.
At the commissioning of the plant in 2021, the former Project Manager, Mr Reuben Geissen, who later became the General Manager had this to say: ”We have a factory that is operational and that can benefit 3,000 farmers, on a yearly basis, with a steady income by buying- off their cassava tubers. It will also have a multiplier effect across the agricultural sector as rural agriculture is still a labour intensive activity in this part of the world”.
However, the much expected revenue from the plant has failed to materialize, four years after. Bureaucratic bottlenecks were said to have cropped up shortly after the commissioning of the plant and the rolling out of its first set of 50 kilogram bags of product.
The Atlantic Bell gathered that the first issue that stalled production was the dissolution of the company’s board of directors, which played a crucial part in the preliminary stages of preparations for the start up of the plant. That action, shortly after the commissioning of the plant, left the company without adequate supervision to help actualize its core mandate.
Three years after the commencement of operations, Reuben Giessen who had become the company’s General Manager, wrote to the Rivers State Government for financial support to enable the completion to complete two more production lines at the factory to enable them churn out more products.
Following that request, the now suspended Governor Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, visited the company on March 7,2024, to ascertain the level of “effectiveness and efficiency” of the company.
After the visit to the company, the now suspended Rivers State Governor had this to say: ”I got a request from the people who are managing the cassava processing plant that we need to extend our support to them to complete two production lines that will give them a standard that they can start to supply in earnest to a lot of distributors who need the products from their plant. And I felt it would be proper for me to see what we have already invested, the stage they are at, so that it will encourage us to give more support. From what I have seen here today, it is really impressive, I can assure them that we are going to give the financial support to ensure that the production lines are all completed. This is to encourage them to go into full supply of the products with international standards to anywhere in the world. “
Barely nine months after the visit of the now suspended governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, to the company and a pledge to invest additional funds by the Rivers State Government, a tragedy of immense proportion hit the company and Rivers State.
On Monday, January 13, 2025, the Dutch expatriate managing director and chief executive officer of the Rivers State Cassava Processing Plant, Reuben Giessen lost his life when he drowned in Aleto River along the Eleme section of the East – West Road, in Rivers State.
He crashed his vehicle into the river while fleeing from suspected kidnappers who attempted to way lay him. The tragic nature of his death stalled production the company.
About three months after the death of the Chief Executive of the Cassava Processing Company, the politically turbulent cloud, which had hovered over Rivers State for over one year, took a toll for the worst.
President Bola Tinubu on March 18, 2025 announced the suspension of the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy and the state legislators for an initial period of six months, as a way of calming political tension, protect critical national assets in the state and promote reconciliation among the political gladiators.
The Atlantic Bell could not confirm whether the suspended governor had made good his promise to support the Cassava Processing Company with additional funds before the death of the Chief Executive or before his own suspension.
However, what The Atlantic Bell authoritatively gathered is that, “nothing is happening at the company,” an official of the state government who prefers anonymity, told our reporter.
We further learnt that the Rivers State Sole Administrator is unhappy with the situation at the cassava plant and has requested a comprehensive report from the company. The report we also gathered was turned in this week, and what the outcome would be is left with the authorities at the moment.
One of the most infuriating aspects of the situation at the company which the authorities are expressing is the obvious lack of technology transfer to indigenous hands to enable them run the plants, especially in the situation which the company finds itself, in the absence of the expatriates. Another worrisome aspect is the inadequate supply of raw materials to feed the plants. It has been surprisingly difficult to feed the plant with enough cassava tubers and even when that is done, the inability to put the two remaining production lines on stream are hampering the realization of the expected revenue from the plant.
Some economic experts are worried that enough study may not have been carried out before the plant was established and that the company ought to have endeavoured to establish its own cassava farms to feed its plants, knowing that there are specific varieties of the product required.
As it stands today, the people of Rivers State are watching and waiting to see how the Multi-billion Naira company, which has the capacity of adding the production of starch and perhaps glucose in future, and reducing the state’s over dependence on oil, would become something everyone would be proud of or whether it would become another waste of taxpayers money.
