AGENCY REPORT

 

The Niger State Development Company has unveiled plans to establish an Integrated Agribusiness Hub at Lapai Gwari, Minna, to deepen agricultural investment, promote value addition and create employment opportunities in the state.

 

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Niger State Development Company (NSDC) Alhaji Hamza Sarki-Bello, disclosed this on Friday while unveiling the plans in Minna.

 

He outlined the company’s ongoing and proposed investments across different sectors of the state’s economy.

 

Sarki-Bello said the proposed agribusiness hub would be developed on approximately 30 hectares of land and would serve as a multi-purpose agricultural investment centre.

 

According to him, the project is designed to integrate various components of the agricultural value chain, including greenhouse and nursery production, fish production and processing, poultry and livestock, feed and agricultural inputs, aggregation and warehousing, as well as cleaning, grading and packaging facilities.

 

He added that the project would also provide opportunities for market linkages and export-oriented agricultural activities.

 

“The proposed Integrated Agribusiness Hub at Lapai Gwari, Minna, is designed as a multi-purpose agricultural investment,” Bello said.

 

He explained that the initiative was intended to move NSDC beyond the traditional management of state assets into productive investments capable of generating sustainable commercial returns while contributing to economic development.

 

Sarki-Bello explained that the proposed hub was also in line with the agricultural and food-security priorities of the Niger State Government, particularly its emphasis on increasing agricultural production, value addition and investment in the state’s agricultural potential.

 

“For NSDC, the Hub represents an opportunity to move beyond traditional asset ownership into productive investment, value addition, job creation and commercially sustainable agribusiness,” he said.

 

The NSDC chief executive said the project formed part of the company’s broader portfolio of prospective investments aimed at diversifying its activities and creating more economic opportunities within the state.

 

He said the company was committed to working with the state government, investors, financial institutions, technical partners and other stakeholders to unlock the potential of state-owned assets.

 

Sarki-Bello stressed that NSDC’s emerging investment strategy was focused on asset optimisation, investment protection, revenue generation, industrial development, agribusiness and value addition, employment creation, transparency and accountability.

 

He said the proposed agribusiness hub is expected to bring together production, processing, storage and market access in one location, potentially reducing post-harvest losses and creating opportunities for farmers, processors, suppliers and other businesses across the agricultural value chain.

 

According to him, the state development company limited (NSDC) has continued to strengthen its investment portfolio through strategic interests in microfinance banking, hospitality and other productive sectors across the state.

 

He said in the financial services sector, NSDC holds a 42.86 per cent share in Edusoko Microfinance Bank, Bida, as part of efforts to deepen financial inclusion and support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with access to finance.

 

According to him, NSDC also has an investment in Babba Microfinance Bank, Agaie, which is currently being repositioned through a FinTech transformation initiative aimed at modernising its operations, improving regulatory compliance and expanding access to digital financial services, particularly for rural and underserved communities.

 

In the hospitality sector, Sarki-Bello said NSDC has completed the remodelling of the former NSDC Hotel and Suites into the Avant-Garde Hotel, in partnership with a private-sector hotel operator at a cost of N1 billion.

 

He said the hotel was upgraded in line with four-star standards, with the objective of improving the value of the state-owned asset, creating employment and generating revenue.

 

He said the state is also advancing the proposed DoubleTree by Hilton Minna project, an approximately 150-room hotel expected to operate under the Hilton franchise, while exploring a partnership with Lemon Tree Hotels Limited, an Indian hospitality brand, for another hotel development in Minna.

 

NSDC is also proposing the redevelopment of the old Niger State Liaison Office in Kaduna into a four-star Niger Luxury Hotel as part of its asset optimisation strategy.

 

Beyond banking and hospitality, NSDC is also establishing a Printing and Packaging Company to support local manufacturing and enterprise development; and a bottled water production plant.

 

Sarki-Bello said the proposed investments are intended to transform idle or underutilised assets into productive enterprises while promoting industrial development, value addition, employment creation and sustainable commercial revenue for the state. (NAN)