Shettima Lauds Agribusiness Conglomerate’s Move to Create Over 6,000 Jobs with Multi-million-dollar Investment in Nigeria

•Assures firm of security of its investments

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Vice President Kashim Shettima has hailed the multi-million-dollar investment portfolio by African agribusiness conglomerate, Export Trading Group (ETG), in Nigeria, assuring that ongoing reforms by the administration of President Bola Tinubu will guarantee the company’s investment.

Shettima said the company’s interests across agro-logistics, fertiliser systems, seed production and industrial processing, among others, were commendable and fully aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of Tinubu.

Shettima made the assertions on Thursday when he received in audience a delegation from the ETG, led by its Global Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Niren Murugan, at State House, Abuja.

The vice president assured the ETG team, “You have been in the country since 2010, but this time around, you have decided to play a more active role in Nigeria’s agricultural value chain. This is where the action is. We have the population and abundance of resources for your investments to thrive.

“All your investment decisions are wonderful. I am particularly thrilled by your interventions especially in seed development, oil processing, fertilizer blending, and agricultural extension services, among others.

“I commend the efforts of your team in Nigeria in the selection of locations for the proposed Centres of Excellence.”

Shettima urged the company to explore the abundant opportunities across the country to expand its stake in the country’s agricultural value chain, particularly in boosting food production.

Earlier, ETG’s Global COO, Murugan, said his visit was to inform the vice president of the company’s investment portfolio in Nigeria, seek high-level alignment, secure government guidance, and accelerate coordination with stakeholders in the public sectors across all levels.

He announced the take-off of the company’s expanded multi-million-dollar oil processing facility in Sagamu, Ogun State, by the second quarter of 2026, disclosing proposed investment pipelines in fertiliser blending, seed production, and integrated agro-logistics, among others.

Murugan also disclosed a collaboration to establish Centres of Agro-Excellence in seven states – Kaduna, Ebonyi, Cross River, Ekiti, Jigawa, Nasarawa and Borno – to serve as regional hubs for the provision of inputs, mechanisation, storage, and primary processing.

On his part, Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, expressed the state’s readiness to collaborate with the conglomerate to harness the vast agricultural potential of the state.

Otu said the state government had carried out sweeping reforms aimed at not only boosting agricultural productivity, but also building a sub-national economy that would serve the rest of the country and give the state an edge in revenue generation and food production.

Otu also spoke of the state government’s vision to attract investments in port facilities, particularly the Bakassi Deep Seaport and Calabar Port projects.

He stated, “We can match your vision end-to-end. We have the land, the mineral resources and the enabling environment to make it happen.”