Michael Onjewu, Abuja
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH GOV. A.A. SULE OF NASARAWA STATE HELD AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE LAFIA, ON FRIDAY, 18 OCTOBER 2024
In this exclusive interview, Governor Sule spoke with the Abuja Editors Forum, who visited the state for an on-the-spot assessment of projects undertaken by the state government since 2019.
Q: What are you doing to encourage solid mineral development in Nasarawa State?
Gov. Sule: Well, thank you very much. First and foremost, let me welcome you to Nasarawa State. I’m happy that you have come, and we are glad that you selected Nasarawa State to be the first place for your visit.
We are never shy about taking a position. I think you need to understand the background of how this initiative came about. I’ve informed people that I was the Group Managing Director of Dangote Refinery.
While I was in Lagos, I had the opportunity, actually, of being informed or invited to run for the office of the Governor. At the initial stage, I was a bit uncomfortable with the invitation because I didn’t trust politicians, and I didn’t want to be invited only for them to take my money and send me away. So, I was worried. But when we finally made the decision that I would take on the challenge, one of the things we did was invite my good friend, Kunle Elebute, from KPMG, to carry out a comprehensive survey and study of Nasarawa State. I will not claim that I knew Nasarawa State that well. After studying in the U.S. and working there, I didn’t live much in Nasarawa State. So, Kunle Elebute and his team spent six months conducting a comprehensive survey. One of the things they mentioned is something you pointed out: that one of the richest states in the Federation is Nasarawa State, with great potential.
They also informed me about the area that I know very well—oil and gas. They said, as a matter of fact, there is a presence of hydrocarbons in Nasarawa State, and yet nothing has been done. They mentioned solid minerals, precious metals, and agriculture. I became more and more excited. This is just a little background for you to know that we didn’t enter into this by accident; it was a result of the study.
I’m happy that you visited that site because, as you mentioned, the marble there is impressive. You would have been even more excited if you had gone to the site of our lithium processing plant, which we did not visit. There are also tin operations that I didn’t hear you mention. These solid mineral factories are being duplicated across the state, and more companies are coming in to invest in the solid minerals sector right now.
We pride ourselves on being the state housing the biggest lithium processing plant in the country. However, in reality, there is another one coming that is bigger than ours, also in Nasarawa State. These are the kinds of developments happening.
We have also invested heavily in agriculture. I would have been happier if you had visited our agricultural farm. Abdullahi Adamu, our first executive governor, has a farm of about 3,000 hectares. We have our own 10,000 hectares belonging to the state government. We have already started harvesting rice. It would have been exciting if you had visited that. We have not even signed any MoU with any buyer; instead, we are focused on harvesting the rice. We are keeping it in the warehouse, forming a pyramid of rice, and then making the announcement. My background from the private sector is to make less noise and focus on productivity so that people will see our actions rather than just hear our words.
Q: How do you intend to ensure the sustainability of the Nasarawa State Vocational and Technology Center in Lafia?
Gov. Sule: I am very interested in skill acquisition. Everything we do in Nasarawa State stems from our vision for the state. My parents couldn’t afford to send me to school in America, so I went on a scholarship. When I arrived in the United States on scholarship in 1980, by 1982, Plateau State was already having challenges with the MPN Center, and we were not receiving our scholarships.
But I attended technical school and studied welding. Some of my classmates at the university, who were not getting their scholarships, had to abandon their studies. However, because I studied welding, I got a job as a welder at Alcoa. I didn’t skip school for one day; I went to school in the morning and worked at Alcoa in the evening. This was possible because I had a skill. That is my first motivation.
My second motivation was when we at Dangote decided to construct the refinery you see today at Epe, Lagos. When the whole program started—with the silos, the distillation unit, and some of the most sophisticated and expensive equipment—the manufacturers insisted that they needed skilled and certified technicians. We needed to go to India because we couldn’t find enough in Nigeria.
Dangote imported 4,000 technicians from India. We are the only ones qualified and deployed because nobody would have that kind of installation unit and allow an unqualified mechanic to work on it. This is my second motivation. This is why I said that if I become the governor of Nasarawa State, we will produce skilled citizens who will be ready for employment when another Dangote is looking for 4,000 skilled artisans. At least we can say we in Nasarawa State have 500 technicians; go and find the other 3,500 elsewhere. This is my motivation and my dream. We have many graduates with various degrees but no skills. This is the skill development they need.
When I was managing director of African Petroleum, one of the things we observed was that employees with secondary school certificates didn’t know what to do with the N15 million or N20 million given to them upon retirement because they lacked skills.
So now, in Nasarawa State, we have pre-retirement skill acquisition programs so that when people retire, they receive their money and have the skills to set up a welding shop, a fabrication shop, a carpentry shop, or an agricultural mechanization shop—something they can do. When they remain idle, some people will take the money and marry a second or third wife, leading to more trouble and more children, which ultimately depletes their funds. But if they use their money based on the skills they have, they become more useful post-retirement. We are doing this for both youth and the elderly.
Q: Are there more initiatives you intend to implement towards women and youth empowerment?
Gov. Sule: Of course, we are committed to doing a lot more. The Vice President was here to launch, for the first time in the country, the Gender Document of our administration. It is all about women and is part of the Human Capital Development Agency, chaired by the Deputy Governor. All these initiatives are geared towards helping women.
Nasarawa State is a pacesetter when it comes to women taking the lead in leadership and careers. For the first time, a woman is the Chief Justice of Nasarawa State, and for the first time, we have a woman as Vice Chancellor of the University. This is part of my administration’s vision to empower women, and the reason is that I have had some very important women who played key roles in my life, and I have seen their impact.
One of those women is Ndi Okereke, former Director-General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Since she left, something has happened to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, largely due to the charisma and honesty she brought to the job. I have great respect for women professionals. During our investment summit, Amina Mohammed from the United Nations woke up early to participate virtually. During the last United Nations General Assembly in New York, I approached her to thank her, and she said she would do anything for Nasarawa because she believes we are one of the most serious states. So, of course, we are doing everything we can for women, and the more women that come forward, the more opportunities we will continue to provide.
Q: What motivates you to focus on the provision of rural infrastructure across the state?
Gov. Sule: I am a rural dweller. I come from a village, and I grew up in a village. I understand village life. But to be honest, one of the most important things is that the wealth of Nasarawa State is in the villages. The wealth is not in the cities. The farming areas and the minerals we are discussing are located in the villages. Therefore, the activities that will truly bring wealth to Nasarawa State are in the villages. One of the things we must do is empower the villages to foster a sense of belonging. Our administration is committed to inclusivity.
We don’t want anyone to be left out—youth, women, or the elderly; everyone is included. That’s why we are providing training and skill acquisition for young people who have just graduated from school, and we are also doing it for those who are retiring. We want the entire value chain to be incorporated.
I wish you had visited Farin Ruwa, a purely agricultural area. There, we have a dam that has the capacity to generate power, but there was no road to the area. So we had to construct a full-fledged asphalt road to unlock all the potential in that area. The wealth is indeed in our rural areas.
Q: How do you want to be remembered as the fourth executive governor of Nasarawa State?
Gov. Sule: Well, I want to be remembered as someone who truly believes in the state—someone who came into the state with a sense of humility, honesty, and prudent management of resources; a leader by example who came to bring out all the prospects of the state and convert those prospects into wealth for the benefit of the good people of Nasarawa State.
So that’s how I want to be remembered—as someone who believes in establishing the structures necessary for the development of the state, from the civil service to public service, all the way to our rural areas. A leader who wants everybody to feel a sense of belonging.
Q: Where do you get the funding for all these infrastructural projects across the state, given that Nasarawa is among those receiving the least allocation from the government?**
Gov. Sule: We are among the states receiving the least allocation from the federal government. However, that doesn’t make us the poorest state. We are one of the states with the greatest potential in human and capital resources. We have mineral resources, oil, and gas. I wish you had also visited Obi Local Government Area, where oil drilling is currently taking place. Our state is one of only three states where oil exploration is happening. For this reason, Nasarawa State cannot be poor.
We are not borrowing money in Nasarawa State to execute projects. Since I came in, we have not gone to the bank to borrow money. This is a mentality I brought from the private sector; we should not rely on borrowing. I decided to close all loopholes. There is a lot of money in Nasarawa State, especially in revenue, but there are also many leakages. Our aim is to block these leakages, but we still have a long way to go in terms of revenue generation for the state.
We also explore other sources of revenue. One advantage we have is our proximity to the FCT. You will see many projects motivated by our closeness to the capital, especially in relation to housing. These projects are targeted at wealthy individuals living in the FCT, encouraging them to come to Nasarawa. That is one of our strategies.
When we came in 2019, our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) was N7.7 billion; today, it is over N20 billion annually. We are also generating between N1.3 billion and N1.7 billion monthly.
We have also approached the federal government to see how we can access more revenues aside from our statutory allocation. Whenever there is a grant from the World Bank or IMF, Nasarawa State is always involved. That is why we are number one in the first disbursement of NGCares. We received more money in the second disbursement than in the first. If you look at all the various interventions from the World Bank, Nasarawa State is there.
Most of the rural roads you see today are funded with money sourced externally. That’s how we are acquiring many of the resources that are going into health, education, and so on.
Q: What is your administration doing in terms of investment in housing, and why has it become difficult to relocate roadside traders and bus drivers to approved markets and parks?
Gov. Sule: The media often holds me back. The moment you take certain actions, people say, “Oh, the Nasarawa State Governor is heartless.” They point out that there are no jobs in the country and that those who are just trying to make a living by the roadside are being arrested. However, we are currently doing a lot on this highway. We have been clearing illegal traders and motor parks along the road, but you clear them today, and they come back tomorrow.
Other options we are exploring include tolling the road and constructing a rail line that can connect Keffi to Apo. One of the reasons I went to China recently was to explore the possibility of establishing a toll road or a bridge that will take off from Nyanya to Masaka.
These ideas are promising, but as one Nollywood star said, a wonderful idea without funding is no idea at all. That is what we are examining.
Regarding housing, we have developed 200 hectares of land in Masaka into a housing peninsula. The houses there are partially completed, and prospective buyers are expected to finish them and move in.
There is another housing estate called Technology Village on your way to Gurku, known as Race Course. Another 200 hectares of land is being developed there. Customs officers have taken about 100 houses upon commissioning. Another major housing project initiated by my predecessor, Tanko Almakura, is called Gunku Kabusu. This area connects Mbappe to Maitama. We are already in advanced talks with the FCT Minister to provide access roads in the area, as the road will benefit both parties.
We will provide sites and services for 13,000 hectares of land. Our role is to provide the infrastructure—roads, electricity, and water—so prospective investors can select 1,000 hectares or 500 hectares to build estates similar to those in Lagos. However, all of this requires funding to achieve. We, as a state, must manage resources in such a way that all sectors receive the necessary attention.
Q: Can you briefly tell us what your administration has done regarding security, pensions, gratuities, teacher welfare, and employment of teachers, among other issues?
Gov Sule: Security is the backbone of everything, and that’s why we addressed security head-on upon my arrival. The first step was to ensure security with our neighbors and within the state. A little over a month after I took office, there were significant issues regarding herder-farmer clashes.
The TIV community exists in both Benue and Nasarawa states, which has led to tensions with the Fulani. Remember, the Benue State government enacted a law prohibiting open grazing, which is not the case in Nasarawa State. This discrepancy created many challenges in managing tensions between farmers and herders. Therefore, the first thing we did upon taking office was to reduce the tensions between farmers and herders, allowing our people to return to their farms freely. We have also invested significantly in internal security because we needed a situation where people would feel safe and comfortable. Additionally, we have introduced technology into our security measures.
Education is another area we cannot overlook. We started with a baseline survey to determine what needs to be done in the sector. I established an independent committee made up of experts from the Federal University. I opted for a federal university to avoid state influence. I became concerned about the state of education in the north because whenever the ten worst states in terms of education are mentioned, the north is always at the forefront, while southern states dominate the top ten best states.
We conducted a baseline survey to identify our challenges, and we’ve been addressing them. We found several issues, including curriculum, infrastructure, and teacher quality.
If we employ 10,000 teachers, I don’t think that will be sufficient. Additionally, the quality of the schools is another major concern.
When I took office, I found a polytechnic established with none of the accredited courses being technical in nature. The courses offered were Economics, Political Science, International Relations, and so on. I have nothing against those courses, but the essence of a polytechnic is to be multi-technic.
Therefore, we must achieve multi-technic accreditation. Today, we are pleased to have at least five technical courses that are accredited.
I always credit the management that helped us prepare for this. Accreditation takes a lot of effort, including bringing in quality resources, personnel, tools, and facilities. Our administration has also established several technical institutions, including the creation of the Faculty of Engineering in Gudi.
Q: Thank you for your time, Your Excellency.
Gov. Sule: Thank you.
