Abdullahi Sule, the governor of Nasarawa State, recently received praise from the president for his agricultural reform plan, which is already showing results.
During a recent visit to the state, Vice President Kashim Shettima presented the commendation.
Shettima flagged off the distribution of tractors and paddy rice to the 13 Local Government Areas, distributed relief materials to 2000 flood victims, broke ground on the Nasarawa State One-Stop Investment Centre, and presented certificates to the graduates of the State Technology and Vocational Training Institute, among other important state functions, during the visit.
At the tractors and paddy rice event, the vice president commended Governor Sule for being a shining example of in the country’s food sufficiency drive.
He praised Governor Sule in particular for his “monumental accomplishments in Agriculture”, a feat which he said, put the state as “an agriculture powerhouse of the nation”.
“Beyond being a home of solid minerals, Nasarawa State is in the position to feed the whole of the nation,” Shettima remarked.
In an effort to help the nation overcome its difficulties, he pledged that the federal government would keep assisting Governor Sule’s revolutionary leadership.
“We will continue to identify with you under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, we will render whatever support necessary to see that this nation gets out of this present challenge,” he said.
Governor Sule will receive presidential recognition for his revolutionary step in the state for the second time.
He was singled out for commendation by President Tinubu in May 2024 for his vision of establishing an enabling environment through the implementation of his industrialisation agenda, which has drawn in both foreign and local businesses to the state.
The president gave special thanks to Governor Sule for his inspiring work putting laws and programs into action that resulted in the state’s establishment of a 4,000-ton-per-day lithium processing facility.
Recall that on May 10, President Tinubu opened the nation’s first and biggest lithium processing facility in the state’s Nasarawa Local Government Area’s Kama Otto town.
About 4,000 jobs for young people in the state and the nation could be created by the $100 million US dollar lithium processing plant constructed by Avatar Energy.
The president also praised Governor Sule for supporting efforts to implement policies and programs that foster a business-friendly environment, investment infrastructure, and value addition in important sectors like agriculture, mining, and energy during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Nasarawa State Investment Summit, which was held at Aliyu Doma Banquet, Hall, Government House, sometime last year.
“This achievement underscores his reputation as an investment destination and his dedication to provide enabling business environment,” he had said.
He called on other nations to follow Nasarawa’s lead and step up their efforts to draw in foreign investment.
“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 material are not exported out of this country without any value addition, in line with the renewed hope agenda,” he stated.
During his most recent visit, Shettima also reaffirmed the state’s agricultural potential and Governor Sule’s leadership in seizing the chance for the good of the state and the nation.
The vice president’s highlighted paddy handout was a portion of the food security initiative’s yield. The state government began harvesting rice from the 10,000 hectares of land it had purchased under the scheme in October 2024.
Governor Sule personally oversaw the rice harvest from the vast tract of land in the state’s Jangwa, Awe Local Government Area.
Similar to the Solid Mineral Exploration Drive, the effort has received a lot of praise and media coverage.
The vocational school is no exception, having trained thousands of young people, including graduates who are succeeding in their chosen fields. Nevertheless, the flood assistance program has a heartwarming tale that may have gone unnoticed by many onlookers among the state duties the vice president completed during his most recent visit.
Governor Sule stated in August 2024 that the state will receive a N3billion flood relief fund from the federal government to solve flood-related issues.
Less than 17 towns in five local government districts in the state were flooded to the ground last year.
Awe, Nasarawa, Toto, Lafia, and Doma are among the local government areas that are impacted.
Following the fund’s acceptance, Governor Sule gave the populace his word that all kobo would be spent strictly and prudently to lessen the effects of floods.
As a result, he gave the finance ministry instructions to create a special account for the fund.
“The money has been received by the Accountant General. When I was informed, I called the team together to discuss it. But I think we should discuss it in detail here to accept how to utilize the funds.
“What I asked the Accountant General to do is to create a dedicated account for this N3 billion.
“We want to make sure that every kobo that we spent is accounted for and is related to flood. It will come from the items of people who have some kind of destruction and see how we are assisting them.
“I think that is what the government would like to have. So that even if no state is submitting details of how they spent the money, I want us in Nasarawa to do that”, he had said.
The ministry of Special Duties, Humanitarian Affairs, and NGOs had previously conducted the assessment of the flood-affected areas before the funds were even given.
“Some of these people literally lost everything—their homes, childhood, and livelihoods.
“We were able to collect data on the homes that were destroyed so that we could report to His Excellency. As soon as we did that, he took action to get support for the displaced individuals,” the immediate past commissioner for the ministry, Margaret Elayo explained.
Following the vice president’s recent flag-off, the State Emergency Management has started working in the impacted areas and giving the victims relief supplies.