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The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria FAAN and the Plateau State government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding MOU to transform the Yakubu Gowon Airport Jos, into a premier food cargo hub.
Managing Director, FAAN, Olubunmi Kuku at the signing of the MOU in lagos, stated that the agreement is to show the world that FAAN is open for business and that Plateau State is ready to rise as Nigeria’s agricultural promise is finally taking flight.
Kuku stressed that something must change, as N3.5 trillion worth of food perishes annually in Nigeria while global market hunger for Nigeria’s produce.
She said “We are in a nation that has potential to drive critical amount of produce and export, but due to the lack of the necessary infrastructure for us to store, for us to process, for us to be able to move from farm to market, we lost a significant amount of that produce, but today, the change begins”.
The FAAN boss expressed optimism that this is an historic turning point in driving Nigeria’s Agricultural exports, as Plateau State will not just be a dot in the map, but a testament of nature’s generosity where temperature climates nature crops all through the year.
She noted that “Today, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria FAAN and the Plateau State government, led by His Excellency, Governor Caleb Mutfwang, are joining forces to transform the Yakubu Gowon Airport in Jos into a premier food cargo hub. This is not just about building infrastructure, it’s about building dreams, creating opportunities and unleashing Plateau’s boundless Agricultural potential on the global stage. This partnership represents everything we believe in, the state government providing support, while we as FAAN provide the professional expertise, guidance and security and necessary infrastructure to have this airport functioning as a Cargo hub”
“It a blue print for the kind of collaboration that will drive Nigeria towards President Bola Tinubu’s vision of a one trillion-dollar economy by 2030”
She expressed satisfaction with the progress made on setting up commodities markets and charged stakeholders to be part of the transformation.
“To all our stakeholders watching this historic moment, the time to act is now. This is an opportunity for investors to also come in and part take in this growth, that promises major returns. Plateau State stands ready with its rich resources and FAAN stands ready with its expertise and the market to drive our produce. We invite you to be part of this transformation- to invest in packaging facilities, storage solutions and transportation infrastructure that will connect our farmers to the World ”
“Today we’re not just signing an agreement, we are signing a declaration of economic independence for our farmers. We are not just upgrading Airports, we are upgrading our dreams. When the future generation looks back at this moment, they will mark it as the day Plateau State began it ascent to become Nigeria’s premier food cargo hub”
“Today we show the world that FAAN is open for business and that Plateau State is ready to rise and that Nigeria’s agricultural promise is finally taking flight ”
The Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang in his remark expressed hope that the partnership would be the begining of the process to unlock the cargo potentials of the state
” We began the conversation over a year ago but today it’s becoming a reality. The Jos airport is one of the oldest airport in this country Jos is a regional hub for agriculture and other produce in Northern Nigeria. For years this plan has been on the drawing board to upgrade the Jos airport to an international Cargo airport and we are glad that finally, we have seen light at the tunnel.
“I want to thank Mr. President for creating the enabling environment for this kind of partnership to come into play. We began the conversation over a year ago and today it’s becoming a reality. We thank God for the political push from the President and the Minister of Aviation. But without the technocrats, this still wouldn’t have been possible . I therefore want to thank the MD and her team for rare privilege of her coming to the airport last year and since then, things have taken a positive dimension. I believe that what we are doing today is laying the foundation for a story that will be told in the future, that will be beautiful and excellent and will add value to Nigeria. We have every confidence that in the next couple of years , we are going to see this airport yield the desired revenue among other airports in Nigeria. The potential is huge , with all the challenges we are facing, there is a lot of commercial activities. “,
Mutfwang noted that the deal with FAAN will complement their partnership with Africa Development Bank.
“We are in the process of rebuilding the biggest market in West Africa destroyed by fire , therefore, Jos is going to become the centre of commerce in Northern Nigeria, this is the journey we have just begun, we are bordered by several states, last year we set up a Plateau commodity marketing company to become an aggregation centre for food produce and we believe that will complement the special agro processing centre which we will soon onboard in partnership with Africa Development Bank, before the year runs out. Close to the airport, we also have the dry land Port which we are discussing the development with the private sector.”
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