By Dele Ogbodo
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, on Saturday faulted the sweeping statement from members of the North-East Caucus at the National Assembly that their region was excluded completely from the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone (SAPZ) programme of the Federal Government.
Debunking the concerns of the self-styled group from that part of the North at a press briefing at the Headquarters of the Ministry, in Abuja, the Minister, underscored that Federal Government is deeply committed to the development of the North-East, adding that they got it all wrong on Federal Government’s Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zone programme.
He explaining further that considering the basic fact that this concern is coming from members of the National Assembly Caucus of the North-East, it becomes very imperative that the record be set straight, even as he emphasized that they got it all wrong.
Kyari, said: “First permit me to state unequivocally, that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu, has recognized the absolute need to avoid exclusion because one of the agenda is ‘Inclusivity’ to ensure that in all we do, all segments of the country and all relevant stakeholders and groupings are carried along in the design and implementation of government programmes.
“In the agricultural sector, the President approved the Presidential Food System Coordination Council under the leadership of the Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima, with inclusion of governors from the 6 geopolitical zones and other critical stakeholders across the zones.
“This is in addition to the statutory National Economic Council (NEC). The essence is to not only ensure the participation of all tiers of government but to guarantee that no state is excluded from the design and implementation of all our agricultural and food security programmes and initiatives.”
On why did the North-east caucus got it all wrong, the Minister explained that on the 8th of April the Ministry commenced the groundbreaking ceremony for the Design-Build-and Operate of the Kaduna Agro-Industrial Hub, and the Cross River Agro-Industrial Hub on the 10th of April 2025, which was the reference point for their worry and concern.
While also making clarification on how the Ministry arrived at this point of doing a representative signpost of a milestone in the project, the Minister, said:
“We are glad that they acknowledged the very innovative nature of the SAPZ as a groundbreaking change in the agricultural development agenda and priority of President Tinubu. The SAPZ program was launched in 2022 based on its conceptual design of Phase 1 in 2019.
“This project is a Federal Government enabled initiative with subscription by the State Governments of the Federation. Therefore, all State Governments were expected to individually Express Interest in the program. For clarity the following steps were taken to arrive at the program as it is today:
“On the selection Process: In 2019, each state governor was notified in writing to express interest with an attached eligibility criteria that will enable them to participate in phase 1 of the program.
“Upon receipt of their expression of interest, a joint team comprising the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Federal Ministry of Finance, and the Development Finance Institution, in this case the African Development bank conducted a mission to each of the states to verify the fulfillment of the eligibility criteria as a selection process.
“This stage got 8 States that qualified namely: Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, Imo, Cross River, and FCT.”
However, he added that upon assumption of office by this administration, government reviewed development potential of this program under the renewed hope agenda of Mr. President and decided that no state will be left behind, stressing that as a result the Vice President’s first international mission was to Rome, Food System Summit where he galvanizes more funding to enable us take more states.
“He also embarked on a second mission to the World Food Price meeting in Des Moines, Iowa, USA where he obtained a commitment of $1 billion from the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) for the sole purpose of bringing on board more states.” He said.
While shedding more light on the financing arrangement, the Minister explained that the SAPZ is a Subsidiary Loan Agreement Program, meaning that the Federal Government onboards the obtained loans to the state for the implementation of the program.
Considering this is a loan, he said it is solely the discretion of the state to participate or not, adding that there cases where some states have not expressed interest in the programme.
On phasing of the project, he said the overall policy directive of Mr. President is that all states must be brought on board, however, this will be in phases.
He said: “We are convinced that as other states see the actuality of this project, they get more interested and therefore express their interest in being the first stage of being onboarded.
“Perhaps, this is the case with the North-East Caucus seeing two landmark events being held back-to-back in Kaduna and Cross River States. The Phase 2 of the program had already commenced in earnest.
“I have personally communicated to all the states that are not in phase 1 in written notifying them of the program and to express interest.
“Consequently, we have received Expression of Interests from 27 States but only 10 States fully complied with the eligibility criteria which includes 3 States from the North-East namely Gombe, Borno and Bauchi States for the first tranche of phase 2 as they will be 3 tranches of onboarding states in the phase 2.
So, the sweeping statement by the Caucus that “the North-east was completely excluded” is not correct.
According to him, the Ministry is confident that more States will do the needful to fulfill the eligibility criteria to enable us capture them in the second tranche funding of Phase 2, adding: “ I therefore also want to appeal to the legislators especially the North East NASS Caucus to appeal to the other Governors of the North East namely Taraba, Yobe and Adamawa to reinvigorate their interest in the Program and to ensure they fulfil the eligibility criteria for the second phase.
“The President’s Renewed Hope Agenda is also anchored on the need for inclusivity. Accordingly, beyond the SAPZ Program, the Federal Government has continued to provide targeted support for farmers in the North-East and across the country. Some recent examples include the following:
“In Gombe State, over 8,000 wheat farmers have benefited from subsidised inputs to boost dry-season production.
“In Bauchi State, we are working with the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) on the Irrigate Nigeria project, which aims to develop over 3 million hectares for sustainable, year-round irrigation farming.
“In Adamawa State, we recently commissioned 120 housing units and a Farmer Empowerment Centre, a major step toward restoring livelihoods and improving living conditions for smallholder farmers.
“The Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project — launched in collaboration with the World Bank — is restoring degraded lands and enhancing climate resilience in Northern Nigeria, including the North-East. The project aims to restore 1 million hectares by 2028 and significantly improve watershed management.
“Gombe State has already committed counterpart funding toward ecosystem restoration and sustainable agriculture practices.”
As part of our drive toward green innovation, the deployment of electric vehicles and solar-powered infrastructure has commenced in the North-East to modernize transportation and reduce carbon emissions, while creating new economic opportunities, he added.
The Minister added that the introduction of the Nigeria Farmers’ Soil Health Card Scheme is also underway, stressing that the initiative provides farmers with tailored information on soil conditions and appropriate fertilizer use. Soil testing laboratories are being established nationwide, including in North-East states, to boost crop yields and promote sustainable farming.
He said: “An up-coming project to boost food security that is targeted at 456,000 farmers beneficiaries co-financed by IFAD is currently being established known as VALUE-CHAIN – NORTH PROJECT with the North East States being major target beneficiaries.
“These are not symbolic projects; they are deliberate, results-oriented interventions designed to build a more resilient, productive, and inclusive agricultural economy.
“We assure the good people of the North-East — and indeed all Nigerians — that this government is unwavering in its commitment to equitable agricultural transformation. From the plains of the North-East to the riverine belts of the South-South, and from the cocoa-rich soils of the South-West to the food baskets of the North-Central, our agenda is one of shared prosperity, food security, and national development as envisioned by the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu
“We will continue to listen; and we’ve heard the statements of the representatives of the North East and we assure you all that the SAPZ Program is for all Nigerians and each and every State of the Federation will be brought on board.
“Indeed, the Green Imperative Project (GIP) which was recently signed by this administration is another landmark program that will deliver services to all States of the Federation with planned Agricultural Mechanization Service Centres across the 774 Local Government areas.”
