President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, commended Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State on his effort towards creating a friendly industrial ecosystem that attracts investment, create employment and stimulate innovation.
Tinubu made the remark while declaring open the second edition of Nasarawa Investment Summit in Lafia.
Represented by Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, the president said that the summit marked a milestone in the state’s journey towards economic transformation.
He noted that Nasarawa State had great potentials for economic growth giving its strategic location and endowment in natural resources.
Tinubu said that the policies and programmes implemented by Gov. Sule had fostered a business friendly environment, which had attracted investors to want to do business in the state.
“Investment in infrastructure and promoting value addition in key sectors such as agriculture, mining and energy had shown that Nasarawa State was dedicated to providing an enabling business environment.
“Last week, Nasarawa State celebrated a significant milestone with the lunch of a 4,000 tonnes per day lithium processing plant.
“This is a testament to its readiness for investment as the achievements had underscored the state’s reputation as an investment destination,” Tinubu added.
He urged other governors to emulate Sule’s by intensifying efforts towards attracting investments to their states.
The president further said that initiative such as the summit was critical to showcase the vast opportunities and potential to woe investors in different sectors to the state.
“We are proud of Nasarawa State government, particularly with the strides it had made in the mining sector by ensuring that their lithium were developed and processed before being exported,” he added.
He, therefore, pledged that the Federal Government would continued to support all states to promote their significant potentials in agriculture and solid minerals.
In his remarks, Gov. Sule appreciated the President, other dignitaries and captains of industries for being part of the summit.
Sule said that the maiden edition of the summit in 2022, under the theme: “Diamond in the Rough: The Making of a New Investment Frontier,”aimed at ushering investment and showcasing our mineral resources to potential investors yielded tremendous results.
“I am happy to state that the outcome of the Summit informed the influx of investors into the State who are variously harnessing our God-given endowment.
“Interestingly, the recently commissioned Avatar New Energy Materials Company Limited in Nasarawa State performed by Mr. President, the ASGARD Mining and Processing Plant, Karu, the Nasarawa Technology Village Project in Karu, as well as other numerous investments being carried out in the State were all informed by the outcome of the Summit in 2022,” he said.
He pledged administration’s commitment to sustain the Investment Summit in order to further showcase other solid mineral resources in the state yet to be identified by interested investors.
‘This is why the theme of this year’s Summit is deliberately coined as “The Industrial Renaissance,” having built some of the key fundamentals required to drive our industrial agenda and present other minerals to our potential investors,” Sule added.
The governor maintained that the 2024 Summit would further expand existing pathways in the state to leverage the industrial, agricultural and mining sectors towards enhancing inclusive and sustainable wealth creation and economic prosperity.
He point out that his administration had been deliberate in stimulating the state’s economy, building human capacities, creating wealth and generate employment for the people.
“It is for this reason that we have adopted our policy document christened “Nasarawa Economic Development Strategy (NEDS)” as a driving force towards the initiation and implementation of various programmes and policies which we have achieved so far, ” he said.
Also speaking, Mr Ibrahim Abdullahi, the Managing Director, Nasarawa State Investment Development Agency (NASIDA) said that the summit was not to celebrate what the state had achieved, but in anticipation of greater accomplishment.
He explained that the policy document of the state, NEDS was the driving force towards the initiation and implementation of various programmes and policies, which the government had achieved so far.
He, therefore, called on captains of industry to take advantage of the enabling environment and potential of the state in solid minerals and agriculture among others and invest in any sector.