Governors project $4bn investment for Nigeria through Agro Processing Zones

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has said that the establishment of Special Agro-processing Zones (SAPZs) in Nigeria has the potential of attracting between one to $4 billion investments into the country.

The Chairman of the forum and governor of Ekiti State, Dr Kayode Fayemi, disclosed this while briefing newsmen after the forum’s meeting on Wednesday in Abuja.

Fayemi explained that all states were potential beneficiaries of the SAPZs initiative, which would bring together the farming and processing community.

“This SAPZs which will bring together the farming and the processing community have the potential of attracting about one billion dollars from the Africa Development Bank (AfDB) and up to 4 billion dollars with the entry of private sector investors.”

Fayemi said that the governors already agreed with AfDB that a tasks desk for the initiative would be at NGF Secretariat to coordinate interest expressed from various states.

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Meanwhile, he reiterated the commitment of the forum in actualising the universal health coverage in Nigeria.

“The Governors expressed willingness to prioritize routine immunization coverage in the States which will ensure that Nigeria is declared polio free and ensure sustainability moving forward.”

On the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) directive on local government funds, Fayemi said the governors were exploring available means to settle the matter.

“NFIU is a matter that is on our agenda consistently, but as you may be aware we are also in court. “We are exploring all other initiatives in order to ensure that we come to a clear conclusion on NFIU matter.”

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