​Akwa Ibom Government To Uplift Peacock Paints Limited

By Akwa Ibom State Govt House Press Centre

Akwa Ibom Government has announced plans to revitalise Peacock Paints Limited, Ikot Ekan in Etinan Local Government Area as a means of providing jobs for the people.

The company whose foundation stone was laid on December 17, 1980 by the late Dr. Clement Isong, the then Governor of defunct Cross River State, went comatose some years ago.

Governor Udom Emmanuel who was on a fact-finding tour of the company Wednesday said the government would soon direct Akwa Ibom Investment Promotion Company to buy and resuscitate it.

According to him “This is one factory that in our minds we promise will not be one of those stories which we used to tell that once upon a time. During our campaign tour of the State, we promised the people that we would have a second look at this factory. This is one brand in Nigeria that people were actually seeking a whole lot because of the quality. Peacock, as a brand in paint manufacturing, was actually then a scarce commodity in the market. At a point in time, the company could not meet demands in Nigeria”.

The governor remarked “I am happy with what I am seeing today. All hopes are not lost. We can actually pick up what we have today and build up a brand that will go around the whole country. The technical team will come and to see how we can turn around this place. The legal issues will be handed over to the state Ministry of Justice to advise government in this regard. What I am still today gives us hope that we can still pick up and build based on where we are as a country”.

Emmanuel who blamed management of the company for its collapse noted that the company’s account was in red, saying since the company was bankrupt resulting in its collapse, the shareholders must join in sharing the liability.

He argued that it was inconceivable for a bank to have demanded for the refund of interest on its loan collected more than 10 years ago by the defunct company, remarking “Once we are able to sort out the ownership structure and legal issues, this give way to a more modern technology. We will install a better line that can actually improve on that capacity and do much more than what was installed here several years ago.

“I want to assure Akwa Ibom people that Peacock Company will not die. We will do everything to resuscitate it. We will make sure the brand is still in the market. Be rest assured that we will do something about it”, the governor assured.

He commended the community for maintaining the facilities against vandalism and called on other communities to protect government property with their domain. The technical people will give us the technical report.

The Chairman of Etinan Local Government Area, Kenneth Okon recalled “The immediate past Governor had it in mind to revitalize the Peacock Company, but was saddled with infrastructure development. In your campaign statement, you indicated that industrialization will be your watchword.

Okon therefore appealed to the state government to send a technical team to take appraisal of the equipment and machineries and expressed the hope that the present administration would revitalize the industry within the first 100 days in office, assuring the governor of the cooperation of Ikot Ekan community to ensure the realization of the planned industrialization of the state.