The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has agreed to prioritise sugar as a key product for accelerating industrial development across states of the federation, in a move aimed at reducing imports, creating jobs and achieving national self-sufficiency.
The Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Kamar Bakrin, disclosed this in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja.
Bakrin said the decision followed a request by the NSDC to the NGF as part of broader efforts to develop Nigeria’s sugar sector and halt the continued importation of raw sugar.
Under the arrangement, the NGF secretariat will include sugar projects as priority beneficiaries in its engagements with development partners both within and outside Nigeria. The forum will also collaborate with the NSDC to support states in preparing and positioning investor-ready sugar projects.
According to Bakrin, the partnership will facilitate structured engagement between state governments, investors and industry operators, while improving coordination around critical enablers such as land access, infrastructure provision and incentive frameworks.
During a meeting with the NGF leadership, Bakrin highlighted the vast investment opportunities in the sugar sector and urged governors of sugarcane-viable states to embrace large-scale sugar project development.
He identified 11 states with proven land suitability for profitable sugar production as Oyo, Kwara, Niger, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Adamawa and Taraba.
The NSDC boss noted that recent macroeconomic developments had improved the competitiveness and profitability of local sugar production. He explained that while global sugar prices had remained relatively stable in dollar terms, exchange rate movements had made sugar imports significantly more expensive.
“Exchange rate movements have made imports significantly more expensive, thereby enhancing the commercial viability of domestically produced sugar, whose inputs are largely naira-denominated,” Bakrin said.
He added that Nigeria now had strong operational fundamentals for sugar production, with assessments identifying about 1.2 million hectares of prime land suitable for large-scale sugarcane cultivation nationwide. However, only about 200,000 hectares would be required to achieve national self-sufficiency.
Bakrin said the Nigerian sugar sector is currently valued at about $2 billion, adding that opportunities would expand significantly under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). He estimated the continental sugar market at $7 billion, while the market for sugar by-products alone was valued at about $10 billion in Nigeria.
He explained that a model sugar project producing 100,000 metric tonnes annually would require an estimated investment of $250 million and deliver an internal rate of return of about 24 per cent. Such projects would also generate valuable by-products including ethanol and bio-electricity.
Bakrin emphasised that sugar projects promote inclusive development by integrating host communities into the value chain through outgrower schemes and employment opportunities, while also supporting environmental sustainability.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the NGF, Abdulateef Shittu, said many state governments were already engaged or keen to invest in sugar-related projects spanning land development, agricultural schemes and agro-industrial initiatives.
Shittu said unlocking the sector’s potential would require effective coordination, credible investment frameworks and strong alignment between federal policy objectives and state-level development priorities.
He pledged the commitment of the NGF secretariat to ensuring that state development priorities increasingly focus on sugar investments, given their capacity to drive rural development and job creation.
