Governor Dauda Lawal said he would create thousands of jobs for Zamfara people by reviving textile industries, cotton ginneries and oil mills across the state.
The governor revealed this after joining Vice President Kashim Shettima on an inspection of the integrated industrial zone near Cotonou, where cotton, cashew nuts, soybeans and other agricultural commodities are processed into finished and semi-finished products.
A statement by the spokesperson of the vice president, Stanley Nkwocha, said the governor drew practical lessons from the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone GDIZ), in Benin Republic as Nigeria intensifies efforts to establish agro-industrial processing hubs, revive domestic manufacturing and create large-scale employment for young people.
Mr Lawal said the GDIZ model demonstrated how deliberate government policy, reliable infrastructure and private-sector investment could link farmers to processors, reduce the export of raw commodities and create jobs across agricultural and manufacturing value chains.
Governor Lawal said the visit revived memories of the once-thriving textile industry in his state, where factories, cotton ginneries and oil mills previously employed thousands of people.
“This takes me down memory lane because I grew up around this industry. My father was one of the owners of the Zamfara Textile Industry,” Lawal said.
“At one point, the factory operated three shifts, with about 2,000 workers on each shift. Zamfara also had about 23 ginneries and an oil mill, where even cotton seeds were converted into oil.”
The governor said the GDIZ model had strengthened his determination to restore cotton production and textile manufacturing in Zamfara.
“This visit has given me a clear pathway. Reviving this industry is one of the legacies I want to leave in Zamfara State, and I am determined to make it a reality,” he said.
“When the entire system is restored, farmers, processors and manufacturers will participate in the value chain, creating jobs, adding value and improving the economic conditions of our people.”
Other governors in the delegation include Hope Uzodimma of Imo State, Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State, Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina State and Umar Namadi of Jigawa State.
