The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. Abubakar Kyari has said that the North East Geo-Political Zone was not excluded from the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) Programme as claimed by the National Assembly North East Caucus.
The Minister made this known while briefing on the Status Report on Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) Programme, held in Abuja, recently.
Sen. Kyari stated that “It is crucial to correct the misconception that the North-East was excluded, inclusivity is at the core of this administration, and all stakeholders are carried along in designing, implementing and development of the programme.”
The Minister said that the SAPZ program, which was launched in 2022, began with Phase 1 selection based on an eligibility process. Eight states qualified, including Kaduna, Kano, Kwara, Oyo, Ogun, Imo, Cross River, and the FCT.
He revealed that “the selection was based on states expressing interest and meeting the eligibility criteria after verification by a joint Federal team and the African Development Bank (AfDB)”.
He stated that “the concern expressed by the North-East Caucus followed groundbreaking ceremonies in Kaduna and Cross River States”.
According to him, “these events were merely representative milestones and not indicators of regional exclusion, the recent ceremonies simply mark visible progress, not a final list of beneficiaries,” the Minister clarified.
He further explained that SAPZ was structured as a Subsidiary Loan Agreement Program, and state participation is voluntary.
“States have to express interest and meet specific requirements. Some states have not done so,” the Minister stated.
He further revealed that “I have personally communicated to all the states that are not in phase 1 in writing notifying them of the program , to express interest and the Phase 2 of the SAPZ program is already underway, with 27 states submitting expressions of interest”.
“Ten of these states, including Gombe, Borno, and Bauchi, are from the Northeast, have met the eligibility criteria, and are set to benefit from the first tranche of Phase 2 onboarding”.
“This proves that the North-East is not only included but actively participating in the SAPZ expansion,” he added.
He appealed to the North- East NASS Caucus “to engage with Governors of the North East namely Taraba, Yobe and Adamawa to reinvigorate their interest in the Programme and ensure they fulfil the eligibility criteria for the second phase”.
The Minister noted that “In the Agricultural Sector, the President approved the Presidential Food System Coordination Council under the leadership of the Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima, GCON, with inclusion of Governors from the Six Geopolitical Zones and other critical Stakeholders across the Zones.
He pointed out that “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”.
Signed
Ezeaja Ikemefuna
AD, Information
For: Director, Information
14/4/2025
