$10m phone plant launched in Ilesa

A multi-million dollar first indigenous phone and computer sets assembling plant was yesterday officially launched in Ilesa, Osun state. The promoter of the phone assembly plant, RLG Communications, is an indigenous information communication telecommunication firm with successful stints in Ghana and Gambia.

According to the chief operating officer, Latilo Taiwo, the company invested over $10 million on the project, and is the first of its kind in ICT soft and hardware in Nigeria.
Latilo said the company has a daily capacity of 7, 500 devices that will include 5,000 mobile phones and 2, 500 computer sets and tablets.
Besides providing direct jobs for over 600 people, Latilo said when fully operational, the plant will create over 10,000 jobs, explaining that the motive behind establishing the plant was to empower people rather than selling the product only.

“We have already trained 500 youths that will work on the plant in Ghana and another batch of youths are due for training in Nigeria also.
“Presently, the components that will be assembled will come from our partners in China but as part of our extension plan, in five years’ time, we intend to manufacture the components here and create more jobs for the people.
“Also, the plant in Ilesa is not meant to serve Osun state or Nigeria alone but we intend to export the products to other African countries in near future,” he concluded.

Speaking further, Latilo said the company also has a training center called RLG Institute of Technology that will train people in fulfillment of its corporate social responsibility. Osun state government has 49% equity in the Ilesa plant, Latilo said, adding that the plant was sited in Osun because of relatively stable power supply in the state.

By Michael Etta Bisong