The House of Representatives, Tuesday urged the federal government to reopen negotiations with the Benue state government to reactivate agreement with contractors for the Makurdi Special Economic Zone.
This, it said, will attract investments and create employment, as it has mandated its committees on Industry and Commerce to ensure compliance and report back within four weeks.
This was fallout of a motion by Hon. Sekau Iyortyom on “Need to Activate the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Markudi, Benue State.”
Special Economic Zones or Free Trade Zones are designated areas within a country that operate under specific economic and regulatory frameworks to attract investments, promote exports and drive economic growth.
The lawmaker noted that the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), tasked with the responsibility of overseeing the project, selected Makurdi, Benue state amongst the beneficiary states for the project, alongside Lekki (Lagos state), Funtua (Katsina state) and llorin (Kwara state).
“In 2018, NEPZA approached the Benue state government for land measuring 276 hectare parcel behind NASME on the bank of River Benue and Makurdi local government was designated for the SEZ and the government promised to resolve title issues and relocate inhabitants,” he said.
He stated further that while NEPZA awarded contracts for the first phase of development based on this understanding for preliminary feasibility studies and others, “seven years after the approval, Makurdi SEZ has not been implemented,” he said.