Gov. Alia Applauds FG Over Signing Of $1.1Bn Green Imperative Project

…Assures of Benue’s full support to the project

Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Iornem Alia, has commended the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu led government over the signing of $1.1 billion Green Imperative Project (GIP) to boost agriculture productivity and enhance private-sector investment in the country.

Governor Alia, who gave the commendation during the signing of the commercial phase of the GIP 1 at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Monday, March 17, 2025, said that as the Food Basket of the Nation, Benue was the happiest among the sub-nationals to witness the signing of the agreement.

Alia assured that his administration will give full support to the success of the project, especially as his state “does not only hold the basket, but the food and its surpluses for the nation”.

In his remarks, at the signing ceremony, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said the administration was poised to enhance the nation’s food security and agriculture productivity.

Tinubu described the GIP initiative as one of the ways the current administration seeks to address the food security challenges the country is facing, adding that it was imperative for the government to synergise and use existing initiatives for the purpose of policy continuity, utilising or leveraging on strategic opportunities to drive the country’s economic growth and also to enhance investor confidence.

The President thanked the Ministers for Agriculture, Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy; the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, as well as the Foreign Affairs Minister, among others for the success of the project.

Speaking in turn, the Brazilian Ambassador to Nigeria, Carlos Garcete, while appreciating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for bringing the long negotiation to a fruitful conclusion, said it was a great honour for Brazil to associate with the Green Imperative Project (GIP).

He said that the negotiations in the past seven years with the Nigerian government, was with a view of obtaining the necessary funds from private and regional development banks to finance the project.

Garcete described the project as one that will allow for the importation of agricultural equipment such as tractors, spare parts and machine assemblage which will be done in Nigeria with the Nigerian labour, disclosing that repairs will be carried out by Nigerian personnel who are to be trained by GIP.

A statement by Mr Tersoo Kula, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Benue State, said that the Green Imperative Project (GIP), the largest agricultural project in Africa, prioritises the development of sustainable, low-carbon agriculture, adding that it also aims to develop structural conditions to boost food production in Nigeria in an efficient and competitive manner.

Kula said that the MoU for the $1.1 billion GIP 1 was signed in 2018, while the $4.3 billion phase 2 of the project and the $2.5 billion JBS were signed in Brazil during President Tinubu’s visit to the country in 2024, amounting to approximately $8 billion.