Shettima, six governors tour Benin’s industrial zone

Vice-President Kashim Shettima and six state governors have toured the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) near Cotonou, the Republic of Benin.

A statement on Friday Stanley Nkwocha, the spokesman for Mr Shettima on media and communications, said the vice president led the assessment tour of the industrial zone.

The governors in the delegation were Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina State and Umar Namadi of Jigawa State.

The statement said the delegation inspected the zone’s integrated textile and agro-processing facilities, where locally produced cotton is converted into yarn, fabric and finished garments.

It added that cashew and other agricultural commodities are also processed for domestic and export markets.

Mr Nkwocha said GDIZ is a 1,640-hectare public-private industrial platform developed by the Beninese government and ARISE Integrated Industrial Platforms.

He said the vice-president and the governors were briefed on the zone’s structure, production capacity and investment potential by Benin’s Minister of Tourism and Foreign Trade, in charge of Industry and the Promotion of Private Investment, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari.

“The visit forms part of Nigeria’s effort to draw practical lessons from Benin’s success in linking agriculture with manufacturing, attracting private investment and converting raw materials into higher-value finished products,” he said.

Mr Nkwocha said the governors expressed their readiness to explore similar industrial projects in their states, noting the opportunities for public-private partnerships, youth employment, technology transfer and stronger linkages between farmers and manufacturers.

“While the global cotton industry is worth about $370 billion, Africa benefits from only about one per cent of that amount,” the vice president said.

Mr Shettima added that reviving Nigeria’s textile value chain could generate millions of jobs, expand non-oil exports and stimulate economic activity across the country.