Suswam woos investors as NSGF seeks to reposition North

Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State on Saturday urged investors to utilise the friendly atmosphere of the state to invest in agriculture and energy.
Suswam made the call while speaking to newsmen at the venue of the joint Northern States Governors’ Forum and United States Investors’ Summit held in Abuja.
The governor said the state required investment in agriculture and energy in order to realise its status of being called the “food basket of the nation”.
He explained that adding value to agriculture produce entailed stable electricity, revealing that Benue State was yet to be linked to the national grid since its creation in 1976.
Suswam declared that infrastructure deficit being experienced by states in the north, especially Benue State, made the region a destination point for investors in the sector.
He said that Northern governors were making efforts to reposition the region.
Suswam said: “Benue state has coal and with the recent discovery of gas in commercial quantity, exploring and exploiting energy to support industrialisation in the state has become profitable.”
Noting that River Benue was a huge resource that must be exploited, the governor warned that improper management of the water could aggravate extinction of the ecosystem.
On the clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the state, the governor said the situation had been brought under control.