ONE of Nigeria’s foremost breweries, Guinness Nigeria Plc and a significant player in the manufacturing sector of the economy, has added another feather to its corporate existence in Nigeria by commissioning new brew house at the Ogba brewery complex. The commissioning ceremony, which took place on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at the Ogba brewery, in Ikeja, with pomp and pageantry, was ably handled by Her Britannic Majesty’s Minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham, MP, who visited from United Kingdom.
In his opening remarks before the commissioning ceremony, Mr. Babatunde Savage, Chairman, Guinness Nigeria Plc, went down the historical lane, saying, Guinness Nigeria Plc, was registered about 60 years ago, even though the sale of Guinness Stout had been going on before then.
Speaking further, Mr. Savage, pointed out that the company provides direct employment for over 1200 full time employees and over 700 temporary staff, while also providing a source of livelihood for over 28,000 Nigerians, through the company’s supply chain activities.
Elucidating, the Chairman, said ‘Guinness Nigeria Plc is also a significant contributor to national income. In 2010 for example total revenue to government from excise duty, import duties, VAT, company income tax and PAYE taxes amounted to over N16bn’. The Chairman talked about Diageo, the parent company of Guinness Nigeria Plc, he said ‘We are happy that Guinness is showing to the world, particularly Nigeria that we belong to Diageo, a company that believes in adding value to where they work, Diageo as you know is in 120 countries of the world and here we are having a brew house, which is the most modern in Africa’ ‘We have a company that believes in long time commitment in the way we operate in Nigeria. This company believes in adding values to our communities, that is why today, we have been able to key in to the Diageo Water of Life projects, in which we have been able to put 10 Water Of Life projects all over the country’ We also have Guinness eye hospitals in Lagos, Onitsha and Kaduna’.
Rounding off his opening remarks, the Chairman, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Tunde Savage, continued ‘Although a UK investment in Nigeria, Guinness Nigeria today has become a truly Nigerian company so much so that Nigerians take pride in the fact that Nigeria is the second biggest Guinness market in the world, local stories demonstrating pride in the brand by the general populace and Nigerian Guinness is now being exported to the United Kingdom’.
In his own statement at the occasion, Mr. Devlin Hainsworth, Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, welcomed the commissioning of the new Ogba brewery and praised the vision of Guinness, which is to the most celebrated business in Nigeria, and went on to say ’Our brand portfolio comprising Malta Guinness, Satzenbrau, Harp, Smirnoff Ice, Gordon’s Spark, Armstrong Dark Ale, Top Malt, Guinness Extra Smooth and our flagship brand Guinness Extra Stout, stand for so much power, greatness, communion-values that are so synonymous with Nigeria and Nigerians’
Speaking further, the Managing Director said’ We are very proud of those brands and I think the investments that we are about to unveil today, further guarantees the quality and the continuity of supplies, so we can meet the consumer demand so effectively and high quality here in Nigeria’.
Mr. Hainsworth, also said’ ‘We are also proud of our corporate reputation and of course our people, we are very proud to have as our majority shareholders, Diageo, the world’s premium drink company and I am delighted’.
The commissioning official, UK Minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham, MP, expressed his pleasure and gratitude for being invited to perform the official opening of the new state of the art brew house and then went down the memory lane touching on how he spent his childhood in Ireland and said ‘I am here as the UK’s Africa Minister to do two things. First of all to intesify our already excellent bi-lateral relations between the UK and Nigeria, but secondly to do what I can, to boost trade between our countries’ Henry Bellingham, MP, went on to say, ‘The UK, is a great trading nation, a nation of businessmen and entrepreneurs, Nigeria is also a country of entrepreneurs, a country of hardworking people’.