SAPZ: You Are Mistaken – FG Refutes Claim By Northeast Lawmakers Of Being Left Out Of Tinubu’s Projects

The federal government has refuted claims that the Northeast is excluded from special agro-processing zones (SAPZ) project introduced by the government of President Bola Tinubu.

According to the government, only three of the six northeastern states – Borno, Gombe, and Bauchi, have expressed interest in participating in the SAPZ projects, while the states that have yet to show interest are Yobe, Taraba, and Adamawa.

The clarification was made by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, who submitted that the legislators who accused the executive branch of bias in the implementation of the projects are mistaken.

Naijaonpoint recalls that the Northeast caucus of the National Assembly had accused President Bola Tinubu of shortchanging the region in the execution of major projects, political appointments and other decisions by his government.

The allegation was made on Thursday by the caucus, which is the umbrella body for Senators and members of the House of Representatives from the North-East geopolitical zone.

The caucus appealed to the President to review some of the actions of his administration by giving fair representation to the North-East, which comprises of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe states.

They made their position known at a press conference they addressed at the National Assembly in Abuja while demanding fairness and equity.

The caucus on Thursday, specifically alleged exclusion by the government from the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ), a $530million agriculture development programme jointly funded by the Federal Government, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Speaking on the development, the leader of the caucus, Senator Danjuma Goje, expressed the displeasure of the group on the exclusion of the Northeast from the SAPZ programme in spite of the region accounting for one-third of Nigeria’s total land mass and being the largest producer of livestock and other food products.

More details later…