Kogi State government has provided seven thousand farmers with agricultural credit facilities and farm inputs worth over seven billion naira to enhance food production and improve livelihoods across the state.
Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo disclosed this in Lokoja at a three-day training programme on promoting development and infrastructure growth in line with the state’s 32-year development plan.
Represented by the Kogi State Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning, Idris Ashiru, Governor Ododo said the state government supported over seven thousand farmers with inputs worth more than seven billion naira, 100% free, during the last wet season.
He noted that government had refurbished 140 abandoned tractors at a fraction of the cost of purchasing new ones.
According to him, cost savings from the initiative and the effectiveness of the state’s treasury management policy have yielded over twenty billion naira, which is now being used to build roads and hospitals.
“Five hundred women and youths today are proud poultry owners because we gave them not fish, but the means to produce fish, viable farms.
“Through KEDA, six billion naira in grants and soft loans has reached more than fifteen thousand micro, small and medium enterprises across the twenty-one local government areas,” he stated.
Construction of Lokoja Modern Market
Governor Ododo said his administration remains committed to providing public infrastructure that would boost trade and investment in Kogi State, describing it as an agrarian economy waiting to be fully exploited for maximum economic gain.
“This market sits on 25 hectares of land, and our objective is to open up the area, boost trade, and create a massive hub for commercial activities to thrive upon completion.
“The Lokoja Ultra-Modern Market is poised to redefine market architecture in Nigeria.
“The President has granted approval for the development of our International Airport at Zariagi. This is a legacy that this administration is fully committed to seeing through.
“The design has been completed, and tendering is imminent. Our aim is to expand economic growth and investment, enhance trade and connectivity, strengthen infrastructure and urban development, promote social and regional integration, and, most importantly, create a wide range of job opportunities for the youths of Kogi State,” the Governor explained.
Kogi Free Trade Zone
According to Ododo, the proposed Kogi Free Trade Zone, planned on about 3,000 hectares within the Ajaokuta economic corridor, will be formally announced in a matter of days following presidential approval.
“The Zone is designed to harness Kogi’s natural resources, agricultural potential and geographic advantage for value-added manufacturing, processing, export and industrialisation.
“We reaffirm our commitment to the Alape Processing Zone, a broader agro-industrial programme under the national Special Agricultural Processing Zone (SAPZ) initiative, which will enhance our drive to attract private sector investment (both foreign and domestic) under a coordinated framework with federal agencies and development partners such as the African Development Bank (AfDB).
These are deliberate steps to move Kogi State from consumption to production, from civil service dependence to agro-industrial dominance.
Road Infrastructure
“We promised roads that open economies, not roads that merely win elections. Over five hundred kilometres of roads have been completed or substantially rehabilitated in less than twenty-four months, cutting across all three senatorial districts,” he said.
The 8.5 km Ogaminana–Obangede–Okaito road with a spur to Oziokutu, the 19.55 km Obajana–Uro–Aku RAAMP road, the 16 km Oguma–Sheria road, and dozens of rural farm-to-market roads in Ankpa, Idah, Egbe, Mopa and Yagba are now opening up communities.
Over one hundred rural communities now enjoy electricity for the first time. In October, we flagged off the first phase of distributing 30 units of 500KVA transformers across the State’s three senatorial districts to boost electricity supply, stimulate economic activity and improve quality of life,” Ododo noted.
He said through the Ododo Youth Empowerment and Skill Acquisition Scheme, OYESA, hundreds of young Kogites have been trained in solar installation, fashion design, welding, catering and graphic design, each graduating with starter packs to begin earning immediately.
Education and Social Support
“We kept faith with education. Free WAEC, NECO and JAMB forms for over thirty-five thousand students in 2025 alone; bursaries for over fifteen thousand Kogi students in tertiary institutions; two thousand new teachers recruited; outstanding local government salaries and leave bonuses cleared.
“To strengthen the girl child in our State, the administration, in collaboration with the World Bank, flagged off the disbursement of N40,000 Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) grants under the AGILE project in September.
“Pre-loaded ATM cards were issued to parents and guardians of beneficiaries across the State. This is not a one-off payment but part of an ongoing project to empower 13,359 adolescent girls,” he added.