The National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) is looking for ways to reduce sugar importation in Nigeria in a bid to attain self-sufficiency in the sector, create jobs, and grow the economy.
Speaking while on a courtesy visit to the Governor of Nasarawa State, Engr. Abdullahi Sule, the NSDC Executive Secretary, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, said the nation’s sugar sector has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of jobs for the country’s teeming youth population.
Mr Bakrin visited Nasarawa State to seek the support of the Governor, who is the Chairman of the Forum of Governors of Sugar Producing States, as a way of enhancing the chances of meeting the targets of the National Sugar Masterplan (NSMP), especially the Backward Integration Plan (BIP) component.
While in Lafia, the NSDC boss described the state as strategic to the attainment of Nigeria’s aspirations in the sugar sector, which include: to develop the industry, create jobs, generate electricity, produce ethanol, and achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production.
According to a statement by Abdullahi Yunusa, aside from the immense potential for sugar production in the state, the NSDC boss said he prioritised the meeting with the governor because of the latter’s strategic position as the Chairman of the Forum of Sugar Producing States.
“I have prioritised this courtesy visit since my appointment for obvious reasons. Nasarawa State is home to a lot of sugar companies, and the potential for sugar production is massive. You are also the Chairman of the Forum of Sugar Producing States, and we need your support to be able to develop this sector.
“If we can develop the sector, it will create hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs for our youths and also save the country billions of dollars that we currently spend on importing raw sugar. There is also the potential for ethanol for industrial use as well as bagasse for electricity generation.”
“We need your support in the area of making land available for sugar investments and also for harmonious relationships with host communities,” the NSDC boss said.
On his part, Governor Abdullahi Sule congratulated his guest on his recent appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and pledged to give him all the support required to succeed on the job.
He recalled, with nostalgia, how he, along with a number of others, worked with the NSDC to develop the NSMP and the BIP.
He, however, lamented the fact that the NSMP and BIP are not being implemented properly and that there is no punishment for erring operators.
The governor also lamented the fact that 98 per cent of the 1.7 million metric tonnes of sugar consumed annually in the country is imported.
He therefore tasked the NSDC team to work towards producing at least half of the annual sugar requirement of the country, which will lead to the creation of over 200,000 direct jobs.
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