Award-winning medical practitioner, good governance advocate and prominent Ikeduru industrialist, Dr. Pedus Eweama, has commended Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, for approving a N500 million bailout fund for Aluminium Extrusion Industry (ALEX), Inyishi, Ikeduru LGA.
In a statement issued to journalists, Dr. Eweama, who recently became the first Ikeduru indigene to receive the National Diaspora Merit Award, described the governor’s intervention as timely support for a company whose operations have struggled due to weak market competitiveness, leadership gaps, and inadequate investment in modern technologies.
He stressed that 21st-century manufacturing requires consistent investment in emerging technologies, product diversification and strategic planning to remain competitive. Dr. Eweama urged ALEX’s management to utilise the bailout as temporary relief while developing long-term priorities focused on sustainable technologies, maintenance culture, new markets, business continuity and prudent resource management.
He also advised the company to build a resilient model that emphasises staff development, product diversification and management integrity to attract private sector capital. According to him, ALEX must fully leverage the technical and operational strength of its parent company, Tower Aluminium, to drive innovation expected of a publicly listed enterprise.
Dr. Eweama, who coordinates the Ikeduru Economic Development Forum (IEDF), is set to commission his international-standard livestock feed manufacturing plant in Ikeduru under G-Prest Imperial Limited and its Ginika Feeds line. He noted that ALEX has remained Ikeduru’s only manufacturing company since its commissioning in 1987, creating jobs for residents within and beyond the LGA. He said his new facility will help reduce unemployment and expand local economic opportunities.
He added that the scarcity of major industries in Ikeduru influenced his decision to establish his company within the locality rather than outside Imo State. Dr. Eweama called on Ikeduru stakeholders at home and abroad to invest in the area, describing its proximity to Owerri as an advantage for business growth.
