Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule
By DANJUMA JOSEPH, Lafia –
Governor Abdullahi Alhaji Sule, during his inaugural speech as the 4th democratical elected Governor of Nasarawa State, on the 29th of May, 2019 vowed to make the state an industrial hub, so that it can be economically self reliant.
Engineer Sule, in a speech titled ‘Consolidating the legacies and charting a fresh vision for greater Nasarawa State’, gave a clear direction and priority areas of his administration one of which was targeted towards industrializing the state.
“Industralization is a cardinal objective of our government, employment and wealth creation will be integral part of the overall industrial policy of this administration. We will adopt an integrated employment creation strategy where industrial, agricultural, commercial, vocational and such other related ventures are encompassed, to this end, small, medium and large scale industries shall be encouraged”
“In view of our proximity to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), government will create industrial zones for small, medium and large scale industries particularly in Karu and Toto axis to attract investors” Gov Sule said.
True to his words, the Governor hit the ground running by inaugurating a 15-man Nasarawa State investment and economic advisory council made up of eminent Nigerians and captains of industries.
The council is chaired by Prof. Koyinsola Ajayi, a leading Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Managing Partner of Olaniwun Ajayi LP, a leading law firm in Africa.
The assemblage of the 15 wise men, was followed by a working document tittled: Nasarawa State Economic Development Strategy (NEDS), which contained the economic and industrial blueprint, guiding the present administration in its economic and industrialization agenda.
Few months after the committee was inaugurated and the blueprint reeled out, Governor Sule, with the input of the committee, succeeded in attracting some investments into the state.
It will be recalled that Governor Sule, attracted Azman Rice Mills and Farms Limited, who have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), with the state Government as well as Umaisha community in Toto local government area for the cultivation of rice.
Government has since provided a total of 12,000 hectares of land for rice production by the company in the state; atleast, this has provided employment opportunities to the teeming youths and enhance revenue generation of the state.
The governor also led a high powered state delegation to Flour Mills Nigeria plc in Lagos, who agreed to invest in agro processing with investment in cassava farming and sugar plantation in Wamba, leading to allocation of 10,000 hectares of land by the state government.
As a follow up to this, the management of Flour Mills led by Mr. Paul Gbededo, were sometimes in the state with some team of experts to carry out feasibility study on the proposed land allocated by the state government for the project.
In addition to this, due to the liberal industrial policy of Governor Sule, Premium Marbles and Granite Limited (PMG), who produces marbles and tiles, is currently operating in Gudi near Akwanga, in Nasarawa State.
The company handles the processing from the Quarry to the finish line into slabs and tiles with state-of-the-art equipment, with production capacity of about 1,500 sqm daily into Slabs and Tiles. The company is said to be one of the biggest in Nigeria.
Gov. Sule, while speaking in an occasion talked about the company saying, “I am happy to inform you that the marbles and tiles you see in airports in Lagos and other major cities in Nigeria are manufactured in Gudi. So we have started the establishment of local processing industries mainly for our local mineral resources”
“We are doing all these to raise our revenue base. In 2019 the internally generated revenue of the state was N7.1 Billion but today due to our determination and commitment to harnessing what we have, the IGR of the state is over N20 billion monthly” the governor said.
Another significant milestone in the industrial policy of Governor Sule’s administration, was the recent grandbreaking commissioning of Nigeria’s first Lithium processing plant in Kama Otto community of Nasarawa Local Government Area of the state, by President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, in May this year.
The 100 million USD lithium processing plant, Avatar New Energy Materials Company Limited, has a 4,000 metric tonnes capacity and one million annually. We all know what that means.
Governor Sule, recently inspected a 100 tonnes per hour capacity tin mining and processing plant in Jida, Wamba Local Government Area, owned by a private firm, Matrix Mining Company.
The governor, while inspecting the factory expressed satisfaction with the progress of work, which is in line with the industrialization thrust of his administration.
“We want to show great appreciation to Matrix, the company that has decided to come and invest in Nasarawa State. Every time we hear about tin mining in the past, everybody was only thinking Plateau State. I’m happy that today, in Wamba Local Government Area, we are carrying out tin mining and tin processing” he said.
Just recently, Nasarawa State Government and Bobtract Tractor Limited, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to establish a tractor assembly plant in Lafia, the state capital.
Similarly, the state has signed an Agreement with a Chinese Mining firm for the establishment of second face of Mining Processing plant in Nasarawa local government area of the State.
Governor Sule, during his recent visit to Mumbai in India, announced plans to partner with Mahindra, India’s leading tractor and farm implement manufacturer, to establish a tractor maintenance workshop in the state.
In addition to all of the above, the recent second edition of Nasarawa Investment Summit 2024, ended with 6 deals signed between the Nasarawa State Government and some partners for more industries.
Perhaps, in the area of industrialization, the Executive Order No 2, which mandates investors coming into the state to explore solid minerals resources, to carry out primary processing of such minerals in the state, is indeed yielding positive results.
This policy thrust, which is central to the industrialization of especially the mining sector of the state is giving rise to number of influx of investors who trooped into the state on daily basis to do business.
For sure, Governor Sule’s administration has continued to record unprecedented development strides that is positioning Nasarawa State, on the genuine path of sustainable developments as far as industrialization is concerned. Kudos to the Governor!
