News
AfDB Dissatisfied With $210m Nigeria Agro-Industrial Zones Project
The African Development Bank has expressed dissatisfaction over the slow progress of the first phase of Nigeria’s Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones project, raising concerns about the disbursement of the $210m loan allocated for the initiative.
According to the bank’s latest Implementation Progress and Results Report dated January 30, 2025, obtained from its website by The Tide yesterday, 98.39 per cent of the total loan remains undisbursed more than two years after the project was approved.
The SAPZS-I project was approved in December 2021 as part of efforts to drive agro-industrial development in Nigeria by establishing processing hubs, supporting infrastructure, and improving agricultural productivity.
However, the project has suffered significant delays, leading to warnings from the AfDB and the introduction of remedial measures to hasten implementation.
The report read, “Procurement of supervision consultants for the DBO contractors is at RFP stage in the case of Kaduna State and REOI stage for Oyo, Imo and Cross River State Design Build and Operate bidding documents have been cleared for four states of Kaduna, Cross River, Oyo and Ogun states and Kaduna has already advertised its DBO.
“All these will result in improved implementation, disbursement, and rating in the year 2025. However overall performance status from the time of project approval to date is relatively slow, especially with respect to project disbursement.”
It reveals that of the total loan amount of $210m, only 1.61 per cent has been disbursed as of December 2024
The ADB was to provide $160m of the total loan, while the Africa Growing Together Fund would provide an additional $50m.
Further checks by The Tide showed that AGTF is a $2bn facility sponsored by the People’s Bank of China and administered by the AfDB.
Despite the availability of these funds, the pace of disbursement has been sluggish.
Further breakdown of the figures shows that only 1.93 per cent of the AfDB’s portion of the loan has been disbursed, leaving 98.07 per cent undisbursed.
Similarly, the AGTF’s portion has recorded a disbursement rate of just 0.58 per cent, with 99.42 per cent of the funds yet to be utilised.
The bank identified administrative inefficiencies, weak capacity among project staff, and delays in procurement processes as key factors hindering the disbursement and implementation of the initiative.
The AfDB has also raised concerns about the slow progress in Imo State, which has not commenced any major activities under the project.
Unlike Kaduna, Cross River, Oyo, and Ogun states, which have made some progress, Imo has lagged.
The bank has formally warned the Imo State Government to begin implementation immediately or risk losing its share of the loan.
The report states that the bank has informed “the Government of Imo State on the need to start activities or the bank will recourse to a cancellation of the loan.”
Meanwhile, the bank has also directed the Ogun State Government to provide an acceptable Service Level Agreement to ensure continued funding.
The Tide learned that a service level agreement defines the level of service expected from a vendor, laying out metrics by which service is measured and remedies should service levels not be achieved.
It is often a critical part of any technology vendor contract.
Despite the project’s potential to drive agro-industrial growth, the bank noted that weak capacity among the staff managing the initiative has posed a major challenge.
The National Project Coordinating Unit and Participating State Implementing Units were found to lack the expertise needed to efficiently manage financial resources, procurement processes, and environmental and social safeguards.
The report highlights that, as part of efforts to address these shortcomings, the bank has deployed two experienced consultants to support project staff and ensure they meet the bank’s fiduciary requirements.
Due to the weak capacity at the PSIUs and the NPCU, the bank noted that it is providing “handholding support to both National Coordinating Office at the Federal level and PSIUs in terms of financial management, procurement processes, Environmental and Social Safeguards etc; reinforced by regular technical workshops on Bank fiduciary requirements.
“The Bank has also provided additional two experienced consultants to backstop and hand hold the project staff on the implementation of project activities.”
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, had lauded the courage and commitment of troops of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria.
Abubakar gave the commendation during a morale-boosting visit to the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI in Maiduguri, Borno.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, yesterday, in Abuja.
The CAS said their sacrifices were etched in the history of the nation, and in the hearts of millions of Nigerians who sleep safer because of the troops’ vigilance.
He emphasised that their bravery and resilience in the face of adversity have not gone unnoticed, saying his visit underscored the vital role airpower plays in neutralising threats and protecting communities.
Abubakar pledged continued investment in cutting-edge technology to empower frontline units.
According to him, the NAF remains steadfast in its mission, guided by leadership, strengthened by unity, and driven by the selfless service of its personnel.
The visit comes at a critical moment, reinforcing the importance of public support for military operations and spotlighting the human element at the heart of national defence.
Nigeria’s soft drinks and beverage market continues to show strong growth potential, making it the leading consumer of soft drinks in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association.
A statement by the VDMA disclosed during a press conference held in Lagos ahead of drinktec 2025, that Nigeria consumed over 53 billion litres of soft drinks in 2024, placing it well ahead of other African countries such as Ghana and South Africa.
Despite challenges such as inflation and a weakening naira, Nigeria’s growing population, rising urbanisation, and expanding middle class are key factors driving demand in the beverage sector.
Bottled water led the segment with 48.7 billion litres sold in 2024, a figure projected to rise by 27% to 62 billion litres by 2028.
Carbonated soft drinks followed with 3.4 billion litres, expected to reach 4.4 billion litres by 2028, while energy drinks are forecasted to grow by 30% over the same period. Juices, though relatively small, are also on an upward trajectory.
“The Nigerian beverage market is expanding quickly due to increasing accessibility and affordability,” VDMA stated, citing data from Euromonitor International.
Set to take place in Munich from 15 to 19 September 2025, drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry.
VDMA, a key exhibitor and technical partner for the event, revealed that Nigerian participation is expected to be strong, especially as the country anticipates economic recovery.
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has condemned the recent ban placed on a song by Nigerian musician, Eedris Abdulkareem, describing the development as a return to the culture of censorship and a threat to the right to free expression.
Abdulkareem had waxed a song titled “Tell Your Papa” which criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued from New York University, Abu Dhabi, yesterday, Soyinka criticised the action and its wider implications, saying it echoed past attempts to stifle artistic and socio-political commentary in Nigeria.
“Courtesy of an artist operating in a different genre – the cartoon – who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event, I learnt recently of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem,” Soyinka said in the piece posted on PM news.
He expressed irony in suggesting that the ban did not go far enough, stating, “It is not only the allegedly offensive record that should be banned – the musician himself should be proscribed. Next, PMAN, or whatever musical association of which Abdulkareem is member, should also go under the hammer.”
Soyinka noted that he had not listened to the banned song but stressed that the issue transcends content and concerns a fundamental democratic principle.
“It cannot be flouted. That, surely is basic. This is why I feel that we should look on the bright side of any picture and thus recommend the Aleshinloye cartoon – and others in allied vein – as an easy-to-apprehend, easy-to-digest summation of the wisdom of attempting to stifle unpalatable works of art or socio-political commentary,” he said.
He also pointed out the irony that censorship often benefits the targeted artist.
The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg, thanks to free governmental promotion. Mr. Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him,” he added.
The literary icon warned that such censorship was not only counterproductive but also dangerous to democratic development.
“We have been through this before, over and over again, ad nauseum. We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary but most essential of all, subversive of all seizures of the fundamental right of free expression,” Soyinka said.
He warned that the ban creates “a permissive atmosphere of trickle-down power,” where state authorities feel emboldened to clamp down on dissent.
Soyinka’s statement also touched on broader issues of impunity and mob violence in Nigeria, lamenting the recent lynching of 19 youths in Edo State.
“My heart goes out to friends, colleagues and families of victims and traumatised survivors of this senseless slaughter. Our thirst for justice must remain unslaked,” he said.
Referencing the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, Soyinka criticised the culture of impunity, saying, “Identified killers were set free to gloat, and paste their photos on the Social Media… in full daylight glare, in the presence of both citizen voyeurs and security forces.”
He called for accountability, warning that “as long as the culture of impunity is given the sheerest strain of legitimacy in any given cause, such gruesome assaults on our common humanity will continue to prevail.”
Soyinka concluded by urging the relevant regulatory body to reverse what he described as a “petulant irrationality,” warning that any government that only tolerates praise-singers “has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss.”