Nigeria’s North Western Governors Forum has resolved to prioritise industrial agriculture as the major vehicle for social and economic development of the region.
The resolution was reached on Friday at the end of a meeting of governors from the region.
Briefing reporters shortly after the forum’s meeting in Kano State, the Chairman of forum and the Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, said the governors had agreed to work together in moving the region and the country forward.
Seven governors of the Nigeria’s North Western region were at the meeting.
They collectively believe that “Agriculture is the only saviour of the Nation’s economy that will not only provide food, but also increase the chances of stopping importation of food”.
The members, therefore, agreed to execute the report and recommendations of the Arewa Research and Development Project anchored on providing a way out from the dwindling economy in the North West Zone through commercial Agriculture and industrialisation of the region.
They also said they had already keyed into President Muhammadu Buhari’s agricultural programme which also sought a ban on importation of food and other necessities that could adequately be provided by the country’s farmers.
The governors also expressed concerns over the recent fire incidents in markets in Kano and Kebbi States, stressing that “it is time to ensure political synergy and unity among member state for a meaningful growth and development of the region and Nigeria in general”.
The meeting of the forum, which lasted for almost seven hours, had in attendance, the Governors of Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, Jigawa and Kano States.
