North-East Lawmakers Slam $530m SAPZ Snub, Demand Inclusion

By Newsroom

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Newsroom

Posted: April 10, 2025 at 10:24 pm, Updated: April 10, 2025 at 10:24 pm

North-East Lawmakers Slam FG for Snubbing Region in $530m Agro Zones

Lawmakers from Nigeria’s North-East are not mincing words—they are angry, and rightly so.

A powerful protest erupted Thursday in Abuja as senators and representatives from Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe states expressed deep outrage over the exclusion of their region from the federal government’s $530 million Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) initiative.

The North-East Caucus, led by seasoned lawmaker Senator Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central), condemned what they described as a shocking and unacceptable snub of the entire zone. Goje addressed the press after an emergency meeting held to tackle the issue head-on.

According to the senator, the SAPZ project—designed to industrialize Nigeria’s agricultural sector and create sustainable jobs—is moving ahead without any presence in the North-East, despite the region’s massive potential in farming and livestock.

“For a start, $530 million is to be provided by the federal government, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD),” Goje told journalists. “It’s beyond alarming that the North-East is not even mentioned.”

The lawmaker referenced the April 8, 2025, launch of SAPZ Phase One by Vice President Kashim Shettima in Kaduna State. The project, heralded as a flagship programme under President Tinubu’s administration, is expected to create jobs, reduce food waste, and modernise Nigeria’s agriculture.

However, not a single state from the North-East made the cut.

Instead, states like Kaduna, Kano, Ogun, and Oyo each received two SAPZ locations. Others in the south-south, south-east, and north-central zones also secured at least one.

Goje called it what it is: a blatant case of regional neglect.

“This omission contradicts the government’s promise of inclusive development,” he said. “The North-East is the largest geopolitical zone in Nigeria by landmass. Our people grow food and rear animals. Our region feeds the nation.”

In short, the exclusion doesn’t add up.

The SAPZ initiative, designed as a ‘presidential priority project’, aims to boost the agricultural value chain. That includes setting up agro-industrial hubs, building rural infrastructure, improving access to markets, and transforming how farming supports the national economy.

Goje emphasized that the North-East should be at the centre of that transformation, not sitting on the sidelines.

“Our region contributes significantly to Nigeria’s GDP through agriculture,” he said. “We have fertile land, we produce livestock at scale, and we have farmers ready to work. So why shut us out?”

He reminded reporters that the North-East has long suffered from conflict, poverty, and underdevelopment. Programs like SAPZ should be bringing relief and opportunity—not more frustration.

“We’re not asking for favours,” Goje stated. “We are demanding fairness.”

He argued that leaving out the North-East undermines the entire SAPZ concept and weakens national unity.

“SAPZ is about building modern agro-industrial economies, tackling post-harvest losses, linking farmers with processors, and reviving rural areas,” he added. “If any region needs this project, it is the North-East.”

The lawmakers warned that the exclusion could stir tensions and widen existing gaps between the region and the rest of the country. They urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to urgently intervene and ensure that the North-East is fully included in the programme.

“The president has always spoken of equity,” Goje said. “Now is the time to walk that talk.”

The caucus praised Tinubu for sustaining a vision that began under Akinwumi Adesina, the current AfDB president and a former Nigerian agriculture minister. They acknowledged the continuity and commitment of the current administration but insisted that such commitment must cover all regions.

“This is about justice,” Goje said. “It is about allowing the North-East to share in the opportunities and transformation promised by this administration.”

The SAPZ model is not just an idea on paper. It’s a major developmental tool that other African countries are already using to revamp agriculture and lift rural communities out of poverty. For Nigeria, it’s meant to decentralize agro-industrial development by making every region a hub of productivity.

Leaving the North-East out of this plan is, to use the caucus’s word, “unthinkable.”

With agriculture seen as a path to economic growth and job creation, ignoring the region’s capacity—both human and natural—is simply bad planning. Especially at a time when Nigeria is facing soaring food prices and rural unemployment.

The lawmakers believe that correcting this oversight is not optional. It’s necessary.

They made it clear that they won’t back down until the North-East receives its fair share of the SAPZ investment.