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Pepperoni Foods. inset: Idogun

A Master’s degree holder in Public Administration, Idogun had worked in various capacities in some oil servicing companies and marine industry before moving to Kingfisher Foods in Port Harcourt from where he established Pepperoni Foods Limited, Yenagoa.

In an interview with Daily Sun, Idogun revealed for the first time the success story of Pepperoni which he attributed to President Goodluck Jonathan who gave a lifeline to the company when he was Governor of Bayelsa state in 2006.

He explained it better: “From childhood, I have had a strong inclination for cooking. Although, I hold a Masters Degree in Public Administration from the University of Port Harcourt, my heart remained in the food industry. For a while, I consulted with my friend and mentor in the business at Kingfisher Foods in Port Harcourt before I picked up courage to take off. Bayelsa State proved to be viable because there was a ready market and competition was low. In fact, the economy was just ripe for our kind of business. We were indeed fortunate to have come into the market at the time we did.

Pepperoni Foods started in 2005 in Bayelsa State at NTA/Azikoro Road, Yenagoa as a restaurant. We ran it (mama Put) for a couple of months until a friend who was Special Adviser to the then Bayelsa Governor informed us of a credit facility programme by the then Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Government in Bayelsa State. The programme was aimed at creating an enabling environment and enhancing economic development as well as boosting the Hospitality industry in the state through interest free credit facilities. Our application for the facility was granted and this gave us the opportunity to upgrade the existing small restaurant to a standard quick service outlet and to equally open a second but purpose built outlet with a Bakery at Opolo in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. We not only leveraged on the facility provided by the Jonathan led administration but worked closely with the Local Tourism industry in Bayelsa State and beyond to become the Pepperoni you know today.”

From the outlet at Azikoro, Idogun had established another branch at Opolo, moved to Port-Harcourt, Calabar and Uyo taking over the food industry in the South-south region. He maintained that if not for the detribalized stance of Jonathan, the expansion Pepperoni is witnessing would have remained in dream.

According to him as evidenced by the intervention of Jonathan in the growth of his company and other small scale businesses in Bayelsa when he was Governor, government has a critical role to play if Nigeria’s economy wants to witness expansion.

Hear him: “We operate in the Food processing Industry, particularly indoor and Outdoor Catering to production of Food and Food related Products. Presently, the Catering Arm of the Business has since branched out into other areas. We now have a fully digitalized Photo Company, a table water company (xyno waters), a sewage disposal unit (backward integration) , the production of Confectionaries especially Bread and Cake at commercial level. I’m proud to say here that our Bread is the number one selling Brand in Bayelsa State, Port Harcourt and Calabar at the moment. And of course, we are fully into Real Estate.

The role of Government should cover the provision of; (i) Power (ii) Security (iii) Infrastructure (iv) Credit opportunities, to mention a few. These would create an enabling environment for businesses to grow and would build confidence in our economy for indigenous investors. Our people are scared of taking risk and losing their investments, however they would readily partner with a foreign firm to set up shops in Nigeria. As the then Governor of Bayelsa state, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan already had a national outlook which was evidenced by his detribalized policies. He made sure that every Tourism Oriented business in Bayelsa State benefited from his policies irrespective of tribe or religion”

While expressing gratitude to the government and people of Bayelsa State for their support, he insisted that the loan extended to him coupled with the enabling environment has given his company a future.

Not only that he advised state governors to emulate Jonathan when he was governor and help to grow small business to solve the problem of unemployment in the country.

Idogun captured it succinctly: “One of the primary reasons for the high level of unemployment in the country is the absence of viable small and medium scale enterprise. Many businesses have gone bust along the way and our graduates now go looking for employment in Shell, Elf, and Chevron etc. The strength of any economy lies in the value of its small and medium scale industries as this guarantees national growth, thereby bringing down inflation. Government should invest in the real sector. It should provide education so we can have skilled hands at all levels and also create an enabling environment for young businesses to grow. Government through its agencies should partner with individuals and firms to create industries and job opportunities for the unemployed. The Goodluck Jonathan Hospitality scheme of Bayelsa State which I benefited from in 2006 will help the Nigerian State. Other States should take a cue from this and grow similar industry niches in their local environment.

The Role of the Bank of Industry (BOI) should be clearly spelt out. The policies of the C.B.N relating to small and medium scale enterprises (SME) should be geared towards encouraging sustainability and growth of the industry. This is one of the most productive sectors in terms of employment generation”

For him, the hopes and, aspirations of Pepperoni are geared towards becoming the Biggest in the country. As it stands today, Pepperoni is the Biggest Brand in the South South geo- political Zone, with outlets in four states and still spreading across the zone.

He said they are equally looking at other products that are directly related to foods, adding that the horizon for us is extremely bright.