North West state governors visit AfDB to boost cooperation
AfDB Chief applauds Nigeria’s North West governors on zonal approach to development.
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L to R: Sokoto State Deputy Governor Idris Mohammed Gobir, Kano State Deputy Governor Aminu Abdussalam, Zamfara State Governor Dr Dauda Lawal, Katsina State Governor Mallam Dikko Umar Radda, African Development Bank Group President Dr Akinwumi Adesina, Kebbi State Governor Dr Nasiru Idris, Kaduna Deputy Governor Dr Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, Jigawa State Governor Alhaji Umar Namadi
Seven newly elected Nigerian State Governors visited the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group in Abidjan to strengthen cooperation and unlock the country’s vast agricultural potential.
The delegation, meeting with Bank President Dr Akinwumi Adesina, was led by Katsina State Governor Mallam Dikko Umar Radda, and included Governors Dr Nasiru Idris of Kebbi State, Alhaji Umar Namadi of Jigawa, Zamfara’s Dr Dauda Lawal, and Deputy Governors Aminu Abdussalam from Kano, Dr Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe representing Kaduna, and Idris Mohammed Gobir of Sokoto.
With an estimated 60 million people which is 28% of the country’s population, North West Nigeria is home to 10 million of the country’s 22 million heads of cattle. The zone has the highest incidence of poverty and food insecurity due to inadequate infrastructure, weak extension services, limited value addition and poor integration into domestic and regional markets.
Discussions in Abidjan focused on boosting food production, nutrition and security, as well as innovative ways to unleash the zone’s rich agriculture potential and fast-track the implementation of Special Agro-industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs).
Other priority areas included opportunities to leverage the African Development Bank’s renewable energy programmes including its $20 billion Desert-to-Power initiative that will deliver 10,000MW of solar energy to nearly 250 million people across the Sahel region.
Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones are designed to promote increased productivity, value addition and market access through government-enabled and private sector-driven investments to develop strategic commodity value chains. The SAPZ program was launched in in Nigeria in October 2022.
Adesina said the Bank and its partners have targeted $1 billion in financing to expand the SAPZ program in Nigeria, to support up to 25 of the country’s 36 states. He urged the governors to collaboratively and promptly select agricultural hubs to host the schemes.
