By Abah Benjamin Eneojoh
Government House, Lokoja
November 2, 2026
Kogi State Governor, His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, FCA, has declared the state’s readiness to turn into a serious centre for worldwide commerce, industrial manufacturing, agricultural processing and business change in West Africa, leveraging its strategic geographical location and plentiful pure sources.
The Governor made this declaration on Monday in Lokoja whereas welcoming members to the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme (ETLS) Sensitization Workshop for the North Central Geopolitical Zone, organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ECOWAS Commission.
Ododo mentioned Kogi’s strategic place on the confluence of Rivers Niger and Benue, in depth agricultural sources, stable mineral deposits and street networks connecting main financial centres present huge alternatives for the state to serve as a gateway for regional commerce and funding.
He defined that his administration’s 32-Year Development Plan was designed to remodel these pure benefits into sustainable financial prosperity, disclosing that the proposed Ajaokuta Free Trade Zone, Agro-Processing Zone and Kogi International Airport had been strategic initiatives aimed toward attracting traders, increasing manufacturing capability and connecting native companies to worldwide markets.
The Governor additional highlighted the Kogi Rebrand Initiative and Invest in Kogi marketing campaign as deliberate efforts to showcase the state’s funding alternatives in agriculture, stable minerals, tourism and industrial growth. He urged farmers, producers, miners, processors and entrepreneurs to look past Nigeria’s home market and put together their merchandise for patrons throughout West Africa, significantly in Accra, Abidjan, Lomé and Cotonou.
The Governor counseled President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his financial reform agenda, noting that consistency in financial insurance policies, native manufacturing and an enabling enterprise surroundings had been important to constructing a aggressive economic system. He assured that Kogi State would proceed to enrich Federal Government initiatives via infrastructure growth, funding promotion and enterprise help.
Earlier, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, described the ECOWAS Trade Liberalization Scheme as a big instrument for regional financial integration, explaining that it offers qualifying merchandise originating from member states with preferential entry to regional markets.
Enikanolaiye disclosed that Nigeria had registered roughly 3,500 firms and 20,000 merchandise underneath the scheme, however noticed that the figures remained under the nation’s potential in comparison with the efficiency of another ECOWAS international locations.
He recognized the plentiful agricultural sources of Kogi and different North Central states, together with livestock, mangoes, millet, maize, sugar, groundnuts and cashew, as alternatives for growing aggressive value-added merchandise for export.
The Minister urged members to make the most of the workshop to grasp product registration, guidelines of origin, certification and different necessities for accessing regional markets. He additionally emphasised that elevated commerce amongst African international locations would promote financial cooperation, strengthen relationships and contribute to peace and safety throughout the continent.
In her remarks, the Secretary to the Kogi State Government, Dr. Folashade Ayoade Arike, reaffirmed the state authorities’s readiness to embrace worldwide commerce, describing Kogi as economically ready to take part in regional and international markets.
She highlighted the significance of the proposed worldwide airport and the continuing Lokoja International Market mission in facilitating the motion of products and connecting companies to wider markets. She appealed to the Federal Government to help the completion of vital infrastructure tasks that will strengthen Kogi’s business capability.
She additional assured members of the state authorities’s dedication to safety, describing it as a elementary requirement for profitable enterprise operations and funding.
