Nasarawa State Governor, Engineer Sule, has said states states can only attract private investors if issues of security and infrastructure are addressed.
Engineer Sule made this known while appearing in two separate panels at the 29th Nigerian Economic Summit, which held at the Transcorp Hilton, in Abuja, on Monday.
The Governor was invited to the event to share the insights of his administration that saw Nasarawa State record improved internally generated revenue, as well as attract private investors through the creation of the enabling environment.
This, the organizers of the economic summit was for other states to take lessons, both in terms of what they can do individually and also in terms of statewide collaboration and partnership.
Engineer Sule particularly harped on the partnership and collaboration in the area of security between the Federal Government and other states within the North Central geopolitical zone, especially Benue, Plateau and Taraba states, which brought relative peace to the state.
“For us in Nasarawa State, the first area we looked at, is the area of security. Coming from the background of the corporate sector and having worked in the oil and gas industry, at the time Shell left Ogoni, it was the issue of security. That’s why the moment I came as a Governor the first thing I said was for me to identify two things. One, our areas of insecurity so that we can go in there and address the issue with a view to assuring private sector investors,” he said.
The Governor pointed out that, even the location of one of the company investing in the state, Ganfeng Lithium Mining Company, that would process 18,000 tonnes of lithium per day, was previously a hideout for bandits but through collaborative efforts with the Federal Government, super military camps were established to restore peace and security in the area.
Speaking as one of the panelists, Engineer Sule highlighted the significance of providing favourable policies capable of attracting investments, as according to him, unless there are the right policies in place, no investor would venture into a state.
“We believe that government has no business in doing business. The best way is for government to provide the right atmosphere, the policies, infrastructure. Once the policies are not in place, there wont be investment. This also include the legal framework that would guarantee investment.
The Governor equally highlighted on the critical role of infrastructure in attracting investments, stressing that his administration is ensuring that it provides critical infrastructure in order to attract investors.
“We want to make sure we have the infrastructure. It does not make sense if you are inviting an investor to come to a place there is no road, water or electricity and you want the investor to come.
“The moment I came in, there is a place called Farin Ruwa where we have one of the most breathtaking waterfalls in the state. But there was no road. We have a dam there that you could easily generate anywhere between 25 and 30 megawatts of power. And then there was no road. The dam was not working.
“The first thing we did was to construct the road. We also connected most of the areas to the national grid so that there is power in the area. It was only after that, that the Federal Government now decided to go ahead and develop the dam. The dam is under construction now. When it’s completed, and at the water table by the waterfalls, maybe we can also generateanother 10 megawatts of power there. We can also use the dam for agriculture,” he added.
Also commenting on the efforts put in place by his administration to attract investors, with Nasarawa State now the leading investment haven for particularly lithium, he spoke on the need for states to first identify their areas of competitive advantages and to leverage on that to attract investors.
“I think it’s best when we are talking about this we identify which area of investments means anything to an investors in the various states. In Nasarawa we identified three areas.
“We have identified that we are a state of agriculture. We have massive opportunities for agriculture in the state. We have water, fertile land and labour. We have the security.
“We have opportunities in mining activities. They say lithium is the new oil because of its demand in the market. We have identified Nasarawa as a state that has seen so far, the most promising reserve of lithium. That is why there is a lot of rush into the state. We went to some of these areas where lithium is found and other minerals nickel, columbite and the rest, and ensured that those places are secured, with the communities, with the people made to understand and take ownership of these projects.
“Finally, the area of oil and gas that I mentioned. We have identified oil and gas and we are focusing and working on it continuously to the point that the first oil well has been drilled, Ebenyi-A oil well. A very promising oil well,” he stated.
He explained that his administration took particular interest to appeal to investors coming into the state to mine mineral deposits, to also carry out value addition by processing the minerals in the state, instead of exporting the raw minerals from the state.
“In Nasarawa, what we did is to say that we must have a partnership. Anybody coming to mine in our area, that company, please, also invest in the processing of that minerals there. That is the reason we are seeing the springing up of factories.
“We signed an executive order in that line, and we have an excellent partnership . In fact, I had a meeting with Mr. President, who also expressed complete agreement with this kind of arrangement. That is why all the companies coming to mine lithium, we are encouraging them to please come and to have, at least, the first process of the lithium in Nasarawa State. The reason is that anywhere you find lithium, you also find nickel. We may be having companies that are mining lithium and taking it out of the state who may also be taking away our nickel,” he said.
Lending his voice on the current debate on the scarcity of foreign exchange that is negatively impacting on the economy of the country, Engineer Sule said the only way to address the deficit in foreign exchange is through maximizing production, especially if the country is able to produce its quota as provide by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
“Just like the Chairman of Shell Nigeria mentioned, if we can improve our production even to meet our OPEC benchmark, nobody will be worrying about foreign exchange anymore,” he said.
