Northeast Caucus in the National Assembly has protested the exclusion of the zone from critical programmes of the Tinubu administration.
By Haruna Salami
Northeast Caucus in the National Assembly has protested the exclusion of the zone from critical programmes of the Tinubu administration.
Briefing journalists at the National Assembly Thursday after an emergency meeting of the Caucus of the North East Geo-political Zone, chairman of the caucus, Senator Danjuma Goje specifically lamented the exclusion of the zone in the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) of the Federal Government.
The Caucus of the North East Geopolitical Zone, comprises all Senators and Members of the House of Representatives from the six states of the zone: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe.
He said the emergency meeting was convened sequel to the exclusion of our zone from the all-important programme of the Federal Government, the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ), despite the enormous potential of our zone in all spheres of agriculture and livestock of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It will be recalled that the Senator Ali Ndume representing Borno South recently criticised President Bola Tinubu over his appointments, which he said was skewed against the North.
Goje said “in view of the seriousness of this matter, the members of our caucus, even though the parliament is on recess, cut short their holidays to attend this meeting and express our reservations about our region’s exclusion from the programme.
On the SAPZ Programme he said 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) for the SAPZ programme.
Last Tuesday, April 8, 2025, Vice President, Kashim Shettima flagged off the construction of Phase 1 of the SAPZ as part of the present administration’s plan to industrialise Nigeria’s agricultural sector and create sustainable jobs.
“Seven states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have been selected for the programme. The North West and South West have two processing zones each – Kaduna, Kano, Ogun, and Oyo states. The South South, South East and North Central have one processing zone each.
“Despite its enormous agricultural potential, the North East is conspicuously missing from the list of states allocated the processing zones.
SAPZs aim to transform Nigeria’s agriculture landscape through innovation, private-sector investments, and strategic public partnerships.
The zones are designed to create agro-industrial hubs that integrate farmers with processors, reduce post-harvest losses and expand rural economic opportunities.
Geographically, the North East is the largest geopolitical zone in the nation, covering nearly one-third of Nigeria’s total area of 272,451 km2 (105,194sq mi). Our potential in all aspects of the agricultural sector cannot be overemphasised.
Our region, the North East, is known for its enormous livestock and crop growth, contributing significantly to our country’s economic well-being and Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
It is against this backdrop that we are extremely worried that our zone is excluded from the SAPZ programme, regarded as a “presidential priority project” and a direct response to the longstanding challenges facing Nigeria’s agricultural value chain, including poor infrastructure, limited access to markets, and low-value addition.
A member of the Caucus, Senator Iya Amin Abbas, (Adamawa Central) said “We are voted to stand for our people and talk on their behalf.
On the Vice President flagging off the programme in Kaduna, Abbas said went there on behalf of the President, and he went there as a federal government representative.
“We, as legislators are voted by our people. So we are standing for our people. Wherever we see there is short change on behalf of Northeast, we all talk about Northeast. We are talking about Adamawa, Taraba, Gombe, Yobe and Borno. We are talking about Northeast here and we are saying it’s only fair for Northeast to be given this.
“We ask, which criteria were used in selecting those states that a Northeast state cannot qualify? That is why today we came. We are not protesting, but we are drawing the attention of federal government and those policy makers to always remember that there is a zone, a region called Northeast whenever they are deciding on projects and programmes of federal government.
Goje added that the Vice President didn’t go there on behalf of the North East or as a North East representative.
“Don’t confuse the two. He was there in his capacity as the Vice President of Nigeria, not as the Vice President of the North East. We don’t have the Vice President of the North East here”, Goje concluded.
At the end of the meeting, the caucus resolved as follows:
“Lament the exclusion of the North East Geopolitical Zone from the processing zones despite its enormous agricultural potential cutting across all sector value chains.
“Appeal for the immediate inclusion of the North East Geo-political Zone in the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ). This is not only for fairness and inclusivity but for the actualisation of the lofty ideals of the present administration to industrialise Nigeria’s agricultural sector and create sustainable jobs in the country.
However, the caucus commended President Tinubu “for making this programme a reality”.
