The Nasarawa State Government has concluded plans to establish a $90 million paper factory in Keffi, headquarters of Keffi Local Government Area.
Governor Abdullahi Sule announced this on Thursday while declaring open an Education Summit organised by the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in Lafia.
He disclosed that the groundbreaking ceremony for the factory would take place on Friday.
Sule said the project aligns with his administration’s industrialisation agenda and is expected to create job opportunities for thousands of youths across the state.
The governor also revealed plans to construct two new flyovers along the Karu corridor to ease the heavy traffic flow from Karu into the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for ongoing economic reforms, noting that increased federal allocations have enabled his administration to record significant developmental milestones.
Sule reaffirmed his commitment to addressing challenges in the basic education sector, including inadequate classrooms, insufficient furniture, diversion of instructional materials, and teacher truancy.
“Whatever investment we make in education is worth it. But we cannot continue this way. Facilities meant for schools are diverted. Teachers who are promoted do not show corresponding commitment. We must reward those who work and sanction those who do not,” he said.
“Education remains one of the biggest challenges in Nigeria, especially in the North. We may not achieve 100 percent success before we leave office, but we must make substantial progress.”
In his remarks, the Executive Chairman of Nasarawa SUBEB, Dr. Kassim Muhammad Kassim, highlighted several systemic problems confronting basic education in the state, including inadequate manpower, diversion of school furniture, disregard for regulations, truancy among teachers, substandard construction projects, and a high number of out-of-school children.
He disclosed that the board uncovered 3,000 qualified teachers who had illegally secured postings to local government education offices, abandoning classroom duties. Of this number, 1,900 have already been redeployed back to classrooms, while plans have been concluded to redeploy an additional 1,000.
Dr. Kassim added that Governor Sule has approved the recruitment of 1,000 new teachers to bridge manpower gaps and strengthen teaching capacity across public primary schools.
