The Yobe State Government has moved to revive some of its dormant industrial assets and accelerate the state’s transition from primary agricultural production to agro-industrialisation with the transfer of four major facilities to the Nigeria Food Corporation (NFC).
The handover, which took place at the Governor’s Office in Damaturu, is a major component of Governor Mai Mala Buni’s Agro-Food Industrial Revolution initiative, which seeks to connect agricultural production with processing, manufacturing, job creation and investment.
The facilities transferred to the NFC are Yobe Flour and Feeds Mills Company Limited and Wheat Flour Global Mills Company Limited, both previously held by Yobe Investment Company Limited; the Yobe State Fertilizer Blending Company, Gujba Limited; and the Damaturu Modern Abattoir.
The fertilizer blending company was transferred by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, Solid Minerals and Tourism, while the abattoir was transferred by the Ministry of Livestock Development.
The Nguru Oil Mills and a property designated as the headquarters of the Nigeria Food Corporation were also presented for consideration, but their transfer was deferred pending the reconciliation of shareholders’ interests.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Mohammed Goje, said the decision was driven by the need to return existing industrial assets to productive use rather than allow them to remain idle.
Goje said the move was consistent with Governor Buni’s vision of transforming Yobe into a competitive agro-industrial hub by improving productivity, creating employment, attracting investment and expanding the state’s internally generated revenue.
He said transferring the facilities to the NFC would provide a coordinated framework for their rehabilitation, investment and eventual full-scale operation.
“The essence is to ensure that these assets are put to productive use and contribute meaningfully to the economic development of Yobe State,” Goje said.
The Chairman of the NFC Board of Directors, Dr Sa’id Alkali Kori, who signed the transfer documents, described the handover as a significant milestone and a major responsibility for the corporation.
Kori said the assets would provide a foundation for moving Yobe beyond the production of raw agricultural commodities towards an integrated value chain in which locally produced raw materials are processed within the state.
According to him, the development has the potential to create jobs, attract private-sector investment, deepen value addition and increase the state’s internally generated revenue.
The transfer was witnessed by the NFC Managing Director, Dr Babagana Mohammed Adam, alongside relevant state commissioners, officials of the Yobe Investment Company Limited, legal representatives and the Director-General of the Yobe State Public-Private Partnership and Investment Promotion Programme, Dr Aliyu Isa Chikaji, who joined virtually.
Established as a public-private partnership initiative of the Buni administration, the Nigeria Food Corporation is expected to serve as a central vehicle for driving Yobe’s agro-industrial transformation by linking the state’s agricultural resources with processing, manufacturing and other value-adding activities.
