Governor Sule Breaks Floor On N30bn Cassava Industrial Metropolis In Nasarawa
Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, on Wednesday carried out the groundbreaking ceremony for a N30 billion Cassava Industrial Metropolis in Kokona Native Authorities Space, marking a significant step within the state’s agro-industrialisation drive.
The challenge, coming days after the Nationwide {Economic} Council (NEC) convention on the Renewed Hope Ward Growth Planning, positions Nasarawa among the many first states to translate the Council’s resolutions on grassroots {economic} improvement into concrete motion.
Addressing conventional rulers, landowners and {financial} companions on the occasion, Governor Sule mentioned the initiative aligns with the nationwide goal of selling home processing and worth addition to uncooked supplies.
“The entire thought from the NEC convention is about creating the ward. At present, we’re not simply speaking a couple of ward. We’re speaking a couple of village. By the point we’ve this challenge—the largest cassava industrial metropolis in Nigeria—then we’ve developed this ward within the space of cassava,” he mentioned.
Promoted by Sequoia Farm Restricted, the commercial metropolis is designed as a completely built-in worth chain operation masking cultivation, processing and the production of ethanol, starch, high-quality cassava flour, animal feed and bio-energy.
Section one of many five-year funding cycle, projected to run from 2025 to 2030, will domesticate 500 hectares beneath an outgrower mannequin, with 80 % of participation reserved for ladies from the host group.
Governor Sule urged the buyers to prioritise group engagement, noting that native assist stays the strongest type of safety.
“As soon as the group buys into this challenge, you might be 100% secured,” he mentioned, pledging to watch the connection between the corporate and the host group to make sure equity.
He additionally disclosed {that a} separate crew of buyers from India was at the moment exploring 10,000 hectares in Toto, Nasarawa, and the Akwanga–Kokona axis for a cashew worth chain challenge, describing each initiatives as sensible responses to NEC’s name for ending the export of unprocessed uncooked supplies.
Sule, who is ready to obtain an award as Industrial Governor of Northern Nigeria, mentioned his main motivation was seeing native youths purchase abilities to function and preserve superior processing gear.
“I might not be the governor by then. However I would be the happiest particular person if I’m nonetheless alive to come back again right here and witness that improvement,” he added.
Managing Director and CEO of the Nasarawa State Funding Growth Company (NASIDA), Ibrahim Abdullahi, described the challenge as a direct final result of the governor’s {economic} technique.
“Growth doesn’t occur accidentally. His Excellency has matched phrases with motion. Earlier than his coming, uncooked supplies from Nasarawa left with out worth addition. At present, we’re altering that,” he mentioned.
Chief Government of Sequoia Farm Restricted, Cheta Udezue, credited the state authorities’s infrastructure funding and coverage assist for making the challenge viable, recalling that the entry street to the positioning was beforehand impassable.
President of the Nationwide Cassava Growers Affiliation, Dr Mustapha Bakano, described the Kokona initiative as the primary 10,000-hectare cassava industrial metropolis within the nation and counseled the governor’s resilience.
The Abaga Tony of Kokona LGA, HRH Mr Lawrence Ayih JP, additionally thanked the governor for resolving points that had delayed the challenge, saying the intervention restored peace and confidence within the space.
Umar Muhammed
Times Nigeria