President Bola Tinubu has urged other states to emulate Nasarawa by attracting investors to their areas.
He made the call on Thursday during the Nasarawa Investment Summit 2024.
Tinubu who was represented by the Minister of Industry, Trade, and Investment, Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, commended the Nasarawa State Governor Abdullahi Sule for his vision of creating a thriving investment environment in the area.
The President noted that the state’s achievement in launching a 4, 000 tons per day lithium processing plant is a testament to Governor Sule’s reputation to making Nasarawa an investment destination and his dedication to providing an enabling business environment.
“This achievement underscores his reputation to make Nasarawa an investment destination and his dedication to providing an enabling business environment.
“I, therefore, urge other states to emulate Nasarawa’s example by intensifying efforts to attract investment. Initiatives like this investment summit are pivotal in showcasing the vast opportunities that await investors across all sectors of the Nigerian economy.
“Nigeria is truly proud of Nasarawa State, particularly for the strides it has taken within the mining sector. This state has shown great vision in ensuring that their vast lithium deposits are developed and processed, ensuring that raw materials are not exported out of this country without any value addition, in line with the renewed hope agenda,” he said.
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President Tinubu added that the theme of the summit ‘Industrial Renaissance’ marks a significant milestone in the state’s journey towards economic transformation, stressing that the industrial renaissance is not just a theme but a call to action.
Speaking at the two-day event, Governor Sule said the 2024 Investment Summit will further expand the state’s existing pathways to leverage the industrial, agricultural, and mining sectors toward enhancing inclusive and sustainable wealth creation and economic prosperity.
He reiterated that his administration has been deliberate in stimulating the state’s economy, building human capacity, creating wealth, and generating employment opportunities for the people.
“It’s for this reason that we have adopted our policy document christened the Nasarawa Economic Development Strategy (NEDS) as a driving force towards the initiation and implementation of the various programmes and policies which we have achieved so far,” he said.
He explained that the reason for choosing the theme for this year’s summit was because his administration has built some of the key fundamentals required to drive the industrial agenda and present other minerals to investors.
Six deals were signed between the Nasarawa State Government and various partners from the public and private sectors in agriculture, mining, and oil and gas sectors during the event held in Lafia, the state capital.
On the first day, which focused on the mining and agricultural sectors, deals worth over $200 million were signed. They include a gold project between Box More, AerthMethal, and the Nasarawa State Government in the Uke development area of the state, a deal for lithium and zinc development in collaboration with Box More, African Finance Corporation, and the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF), and rice and sugarcane production and processing in partnership with Lee Group worth $200 million.
The summit brought together stakeholders, policymakers, industry leaders, and investors from local, national, and international spheres for the second time.
The two-day event was a build-up of the success of the inaugural edition held in 2022 focused on mining, agriculture, and the oil and gas sectors with infrastructural development.
