The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, says a number of factories set up under the One District, One Factory (1D1F) programme have been abandoned and are now being used as churches after shutting down.
Appearing before Parliament’s Assurance Committee, he blamed the failure of some projects on poor location choices, arguing that political interests often took precedence over business realities. According to him, several factories were established in districts without reliable access to the raw materials required for production.
“We sited factories and companies far away from raw materials because politicians were coming from these faraway areas. How many of them survived?”
Mr Ibrahim added that the government intends to avoid similar setbacks under its proposed 24-hour economy initiative by ensuring future industrial projects are backed by feasibility studies and local economic research. He said District Chief Executives will work with government to identify locations where businesses are most likely to succeed, with the goal of creating sustainable jobs and stronger local industries.
