By
Taiye Bayode
Kogi State’s push to diversify its economy beyond oil took a significant step forward as the State Committee on Export Promotion (SCEP) held its 2nd Quarter Meeting with stakeholders from across its export value chain, converging to review progress and agree on a clear path forward for the rest of the year 2026.
The second of four annual meeting, took place at the State Secretariat, Lokoja, chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Hajiya Musa-Amana Sualihat, marking her first time presiding over the committee since assuming office in the Ministry.
In her welcome address, the Chairman/Perm Sec described the occasion as a privilege and reaffirmed her commitment to providing informed and effective leadership to the committee, calling on all members to contribute actively toward building a stronger export ecosystem capable of attracting investment, stimulate economic development, and create sustainable prosperity for the people of Kogi State.
A key outcome of the meeting was the adoption of the Kogi State SCEP Work Plan for Q3 and Q4 of 2026, themed “From Awareness to Action: Positioning Kogi State for Non-Oil Export Growth.”
The Q3 phase, running from July to September, focuses on statewide stakeholder sensitization, identification and validation of key export commodities, development of an exporter database, and initial capacity building sessions on export procedures, packaging, and documentation.
The Q4 phase, from October to December, builds on this with advanced training on certification and value addition, buyer-seller matchmaking sessions, finalization of the exporter database, strengthened inter-agency collaboration, and an end-of-year monitoring and evaluation exercise.
The committee unanimously adopted the plan as its operational roadmap for the remainder of 2026.
The workplan implementation which aligns with the broader economic diversification drive of His Excellency, Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo, recognizes non-oil export development as a critical lever for growing the state’s internally generated revenue, and in turn create employment for its people.
NEPC State Coordinator, Mr. Akinlabi Adam, also drew the committee’s attention to the federal government’s “One State, One Commodity” initiative, under which Kogi State had previously identified cashew as its designated agricultural export commodity.
While the coordinator called on the committee to urgently identify a second commodity from the solid minerals sector, he also noted that the federal government is actively collating nominations from all states, in addition with a new federal government template for the formation of commodity clusters across all sectors, committing to share Kogi’s participation.
Akinlabi further presented active export sourcing requests from international buyers, including demand for cow horn, okra, scotch bonnet pepper, chia nut and chia butter, soya beans, and others, calling on stakeholders with verified capacity to supply, while also stressing that Nigeria’s reputation in the global export market depends entirely on the integrity and reliability of its suppliers.
With Kogi State’s rich agricultural landscape and vast untapped solid mineral deposits, SCEP’s renewed focus and structured work plan signals a committee that is ready & moving to deliver on the mandate it was given.
