Omatek Gets Presidential Stamp

Thumbs Up! Mr. President proudly shows off Omatek laptop inside the villa

The Federal Government has made commitment to ensure the continuous success of Omatek Computer factory. It directed the Ministry of Industries to make a formal ‘Progress Report’ on the factory every six months to
the Presidency.

President Olusegun Obasanjo gave the order last week at a ceremony lasting about one hour inside Aso Villa on the formal public presentation of Omatek computer systems. The president was happy that the Lagos factory has helped to enlist the country in the club of countries locally
manufacturing branded computer systems.

“Give me your progress report every six months through the Ministry of Industries. This is a project we must all support, said the president.” To the Chief Executive Officer of Omatek Computers Mrs. Florence Seriki, who made a 30 minute video and PowerPoint presentations, the president opening response was “Madam, I am impressed by your vision and courage. This project requires vision and courage to execute.”

He said Omatek’s effort at local production of casings and speakers was a brave one that “must not fail” and enjoined bank to give the initiative the necessary support to succeed. Government on its part would not shy away from providing the right policy guidance on fostering indigenous entrepreneurship of this nature, Obasanjo assured the Omatek’s board and management at the villa.

He said banks were under obligation to ensure that the Omatek project and other similar efforts enjoy sustainable financial support and not the type that would suffocate them. He condemned banks’ practice of demanding high interest from borrowers and said government would do
everything within its powers to stop what he described as an evil banking practice.

“This is what they are doing to kill the economy and the country. They take 25 per cent interest,” said the president adding, “Banks must invest in productive sectors of the economy. They must not kill this kind of effort.”

Omatek’s Chairman Mr. Fola Adeola, founder of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), led the team to the Villa for the public unveiling of Omatek computers. It would be the first time any locally branded computer would be openly acknowledged inside the presidency by the president who played host to the delegation of over 30 major players from within the public and private sectors. They include the Minister of Science and Technology Prof Turner Isoun, who led the government team that included the Minister
of Communications Chief Cornelius Adebayo, Director General of NITDA, Prof Gabriel Ajayi who was represented by Dr. Moses Ubaru.

Others were Managing Director of Zenith Bank Jim Ovia, who is a major shareholder in Omatek, Mr.Patrick Modilim of Zenith Bank, Mrs. Cathy Echeozo, Senator Sunday Fajinmi, Former Minister of State for Science and
Technology, Mrs. Paullen Tallen, General Manager of Omatek Computers, Yomi Soyinka, a Director of Omatek, Dr. Farinre, and Deputy General Manager Omatek Computers Limited Mr. Olumide Akinmutimi.

Also in the list were the Director General of SMEDAN, Mrs. Dupe Adelaja, Presidency Spokesperson Mrs. Remi Oyo, the Chief of Staff to the President, Major General Abdullahi Mohammed, the Personal Secretary to the President, Mr. Steve Oransaye, Amb. Nwachukwu (Foreign Affairs) and
Special Assistant to the President, Mr. T. Oyawoye.


Omatek was founded in 1986 by Seriki whose initial effort at local computer assembly was publicly unveiled in 1993 by the then US Ambassador to Nigeria at the CTO. The company is now a joint venture involving the equity participation of two leading Nigerian banks. They are Zenith Bank and Guaranty Trust Bank.

The two banks helped to give birth to the Omatek factory last year by providing the needed financial impetus under the policy of Small Medium Enterprises (SME) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Seriki thanked the Federal Government for introducing the policy and described the
birth of Omatek factory as a direct product of the SME policy.

The Omatek plant is a three in one factory; one is the PC assembly line, another for Casings and the third for Speakers. The Omatek factory is the first computer casing and speaker plant in Africa. It produces these for its own PC manufacture and those of other PC builders.

Today, apart from attracting foreign direct investment and effecting technology transfer, about 300 people are employed in the factory. An average 12,000 PCs are produced in a year but the factory has an installed
capacity for 48,000 units.

Omatek’s current challenges as enumerated to the president by Seriki include getting to win more patronage from the public and private sectors. There is still a lukewarm attitude towards locally manufactured
computers within government ministries in spite of government directive that all ministries and parastatals give priority first to locally manufactured computers before other brands.

Besides, the 2.5% duty slated for local assemblers like Omatek factory is currently also being used for clearing foreign brands thus giving the foreign brands undue competitive advantage and eroding the level
playing field which the duty was supposed to give to local brands. Seriki said that there was urgent need to “circulate the circular for local assemblers to the customs controller to restrict the use of the 2.5% to local assemblers listed in the circular.”

Since it started operations last year, Omatek has made inroad not only within the private and public institutions but also corporate sectors outside of the country, notably Ghana. Her recognition as a computer powerhouse in Africa was attested to at the last ITU Telecom Conference & Exhibition in Cairo, Egypt when ITU Secretary General Yoshio Utsumi bought an Omatek PC for use in his office in Geneva. Many market watchers see this as major plus at building the nations international image. Omatek is also helping to offer Nigerians affordable PCs in addition to
skills transfer.

The factory has become a hub for industrial training for young Nigerians from various educational institutions and those craving for IT skills.

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