The Federal Government has announced plans to establish specialized agro-processing zones in Kano and other strategic locations across the country as part of its industrial development agenda.
The decision was reached at the 16th National Council on Industry, Trade, and Investment (NCITI) meeting, chaired by the Minister of State for Industry, Trade, and Investment, Senator John Enoh.
The session, themed “Accelerating Diversification by Leveraging Industry, Trade and Investment for Shared Prosperity,” reviewed 75 memoranda, including 30 actionable recommendations to boost industrialization.
In a statement by his Senior Special Adviser on Strategic Communications, Ifeoma Williams, Senator Enoh outlined key projects under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, including Agro-processing hubs in Kano to convert cassava into ethanol and starch, creating thousands of jobs; textile clusters in Aba and Lagos to revitalize garment manufacturing and exports; and a pharmaceutical production enclave in Ogun State to strengthen local medicine supply and reduce import reliance.
The minister emphasized a shift from small-scale pilots to full-scale industrialization, stating: “This is no time for pilot programmes or policy lip service. We are entering an era of full-scale industrialisation, where every investment, every reform, every decision must drive us towards a globally competitive, inclusive, and innovation-led economy.”
The initiative, led by the Industrial Revolution Work Group (IRWG), signals the government’s push to diversify the economy through agro-industrial growth and local manufacturing.
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