Lokoja
The National Assembly has approved the request of the Kogi State Government for $100 foreign loan to establish Staple Crops Zone and Agricultural Modernisation Project in the western flank of the state.
The Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, confirmed this to journalists in Lokoja on Thursday.
Explaining the rationale behind the loan, Fanwo said the state government needed the loan to realise it’s objective of establishing a food processing zone and to also modernise it’s agricultural processes.
The commissioner said:”The request has been approved by the National Assembly. The project is expected to create over two million direct and indirect jobs.
“The proposed Kogi Staple Crops Zone and Agricultural Modernisation Project is set to position Kogi State and indeed Nigeria as the food corridor of Africa and an industrial hub.”
“The Kogi State Staple Crops Processing Zone and Agricultural Modernisation Project is aimed at making the state the food corridor of Africa and to also make the nation’s biofuel plan a reality.”
Fanwo further explained that the loan facility would be obtained from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and not the World Bank, as earlier announced.
He expressed the gratitude of the state government to the leadership and members of the National Assembly for their show of patriotism in approving the loan for the project.
According to him, the project, when on board, would also redefine the future of Nigeria as a nation.
The commissioner dismissed reports by a section of the media that, the request was “expunged” by the National Assembly, saying that it only removed it from the World Bank list and added to the AfDB’s list.
The commissioner lauded the National Assembly members from the state for their efforts, adding their efforts said made it possible for the request to sail through.
