NEPZA, Ekiti seal Agric zone deal

The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), in partnership
with Ekiti State, is set to establish a Knowledge-based and
Agricultural Special Economic Zone in the state.

Already, the Managing Director NEPZA, Adesoji Adesugba, who spoke
during a visit by Governor, Kayode Fayemi, in Abuja at the weekend,
also expressed the agency’s willingness to license the proposed zone.

According to Adesugba, for the states to be industrialized, they must
go back to the basics. It is important that states have industries and
good investments, he added.

He added that there was the need to leverage China, Dubai, Ethiopia
and Turkey as success models for special economic and free trade
zones.

He said developing economies were using this strategy to fast-track
industrialization, urging the governors to key into the scheme.

Fayemi said NEPZA was critical to the country’s quest to attract
investments, local production, industrialization as revenue generation
through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

The governor said there was the need to think outside the box in order
to drive the process in the state instead of always talking and making
references to FDI without necessary plans on ground. It is indeed
crucial that we recognize and disaggregate those investments in terms
of sub-national opportunities at the state level.

For us in Ekiti we arguably have comparative advantages in the areas
of scholarship and agriculture. We are very keen in our knowledge
economic agenda to have a status of a special economic zone which is
going to be the first service oriented zone.