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Peterside Rejoice Eneky
Lawmakers from the North East geopolitical zone have expressed outrage over the exclusion of their region from the Federal Government’s Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) programme, calling for immediate corrective measures to ensure fairness and national inclusion.
Speaking during a press briefing at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on Thursday, Chairman of the North East Caucus, Senator Danjuma Goje, said the caucus convened an emergency meeting to address what it described as a glaring oversight in the distribution of the agro-industrial zones.
The SAPZ initiative, a flagship project of the Federal Government supported by international partners including the African Development Bank (AfDB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), is designed to transform Nigeria’s agriculture sector by boosting productivity, reducing post-harvest losses, and fostering rural economic development through agro-processing hubs.
Senator Goje noted that although seven states and the Federal Capital Territory have been selected for the programme—Kaduna, Kano, Ogun, Oyo, Cross River, Imo, and the FCT—the North East was entirely left out, despite being the largest geopolitical zone in Nigeria and a major contributor to the nation’s agricultural output.
“The exclusion of the North East from this presidential priority project is deeply concerning. Our region has vast potential in both crop and livestock production and has historically played a vital role in the agricultural economy of this country,” Goje stated.
He revealed that members of the caucus, which includes all Senators and House of Representatives members from Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe states, cut short their legislative recess to hold the emergency meeting.
While commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for initiating the SAPZ programme, the caucus lamented the absence of the North East and made a formal appeal for its immediate inclusion.
“We are not only asking for fairness; we are advocating for the actualisation of the goals of this programme, which includes job creation and rural transformation. Excluding a region with such agricultural significance undermines the impact of the initiative,” Goje added.
The lawmakers urged relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Agriculture and its development partners, to revisit the selection process and incorporate the North East to reflect the programme’s intended nationwide reach.
The SAPZ programme, flagged off earlier this week in Kaduna by Vice President Kashim Shettima, is part of the Federal Government’s broader push to industrialise Nigeria’s agricultural sector and stimulate economic diversification.
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