Six Nigerian state governors have pledged to apply lessons from the Glo Djigbe Industrial Zone in Benin Republic as Nigeria works to establish its own agro industrial processing hubs and create large scale employment.

The governors, from Imo, Zamfara, Plateau, Kwara, Katsina and Jigawa states, toured the integrated industrial zone near Cotonou alongside Vice President Kashim Shettima, where cotton, cashew and soybeans are processed into finished products. Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq described the trip as a peer learning mission meant to help Nigerian states avoid costly mistakes, noting that participating states are working with the federal government and development partners including the African Development Bank to build similar zones as part of Nigeria’s Special Agro Industrial Processing Zones programme, whose first phase covers seven states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Jigawa State Governor Umar Namadi said the visit offered useful lessons for his state’s efforts to add value to agricultural production, while Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal recalled his state’s once thriving textile industry, including a family owned factory that employed thousands before its decline. Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma said African countries must deepen peer learning to build industries around their comparative advantages, while Katsina State Governor Dikko Umar Radda said the production model could be replicated given his state’s strength in cotton and soybean farming. Plateau State Governor Caleb Mutfwang called the zone a proof of concept demonstrating what political commitment and careful planning can achieve, aligning with the federal government’s ambition to build a trillion dollar economy.