When the Nasarawa State Investment Development Agency (NASIDA), was established as the operational arm of Governor Abdullahi Sule’s economic reform agenda, few would have predicted that within five years the agency would preside over the attraction of more than two billion dollars in investments to a state that was, until recently, largely unknown to the Nigerian investment community.
As the state prepares to host the third edition of its biennial Nasarawa Investment Summit on May 6 and 7 in Lafia, what NASIDA has accomplished since 2022 stands as one of the more compelling economic stories to emerge from any Nigerian state in recent times.
NASIDA was not created in a vacuum. It grew out of the Nasarawa Economic Development Strategy (NEDS), which the Governor Sule administration adopted in 2019 as the policy backbone of its plan to transform the state into a private-sector-led economy.
The agency was designed to serve as the vehicle through which those ambitions would be communicated to investors, partnerships would be forged, and deals would move from concept to ground-level reality.
Its founders conceptualized its mandate clearly: to present credible and bankable investment opportunities that are market-ready for investor engagement, and to build a methodology that ensures all key stakeholders participate in implementing the state’s economic strategy.
The first test of that mandate came in May 2022, when NASIDA organised the inaugural Nasarawa Investment Summit under the theme “Diamond in the Rough: The Making of a New Investment Frontier.”
The choice of theme was deliberate. The summit was aimed at positioning Nasarawa as a state endowed with strategic advantages — natural resources, proximity to Abuja, and untapped investment opportunities that had long been overlooked by capital seeking destinations in Nigeria.
At the time, then Special Adviser on Economic Planning and Investment, Ibrahim Abdullahi, who would later become NASIDA’s Managing Director/CEO, made clear that the summit was not a celebration but a declaration of intent.
The gathering attracted significant attention. Then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who attended the event, noted that Nasarawa State had tremendous potential especially in agriculture and mining, and commended the governor for initiating reforms through the instrument of NEDS, which led to the establishment of NASIDA itself.
Aliko Dangote sent goodwill, and the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, was among those who graced the occasion.
Beyond the symbolism, the summit produced tangible momentum. Investment pledges in the order of 500 million dollars were recorded, many of which had reached advanced stages of crystallising by 2024, including the Nasarawa Technology Village, the Greenville LNG facility, and what would later become the Avatar New Energy Materials Company.
That last project deserves attention of its own. The lithium processing plant established by Avatar New Energy Materials in Nasarawa local government area became, in many respects, the most visible symbol of what the 2022 summit had set in motion.
Built by Avatar Energy, the plant has capacity for 4,000 metric tons of lithium per day and the potential to provide 4,000 jobs. It was commissioned in May 2024, at the same time NASIDA was hosting the second edition of the summit, turning the event itself into a showcase of proof rather than mere promise.
The second summit, held on May 15 and 16, 2024, under the theme “Industrial Renaissance,” marked a shift in the conversation.
Governor Sule explained that this edition shifted the narrative from potential to structured development, highlighting deliberate efforts to industrialise the state through sectoral development in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and infrastructure.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, used his address to commend the Nasarawa administration for creating what he called a business-friendly environment.
The president particularly noted Nasarawa’s milestone in launching the 4,000-ton-per-day processing plant, describing it as testament to the state’s readiness for investment. The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed, also praised the state’s trajectory.
The 2024 summit was not merely ceremonial. It closed with six deals signed between the Nasarawa State Government and various partners, including agreements on the lithium and gas value chain, a Nasarawa Renewable Energy collaboration with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, and the development of Compressed Natural Gas mainstream infrastructure involving PowerGas, NNPCL, the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria, and Nigeria Gas Marketing Limited.
On the first day alone, deals worth over 200 million dollars were formalised covering gold, lithium, zinc, and rice and sugarcane production in partnership with the Lee Group. The Nasarawa State Gas Master Plan was also launched at that edition, setting out the state’s long-term gas strategy.
The cumulative effect of these two summits, as NASIDA’s own figures now show, has been considerable. Ibrahim Abdullahi, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NASIDA, has disclosed that between 2022 and 2024, the state recorded 1.8 billion dollars in investments alongside 1.3 million dollars in technical assistance.
Then, outside the summit cycle, the momentum continued to build.
“In 2025 alone, Nasarawa State attracted an additional one billion US dollars, of which 505 million dollars have already been actualised — a testament to the credibility and consistency of this administration’s investment promotion drive,” Abdullahi said.
The total figure from 2022 to 2025 now stands at 2.3 billion dollars.
It is against this backdrop that NASIDA is now preparing what Governor Sule himself has described as the defining edition of the summit series.
The third Nasarawa Investment Summit, scheduled for May 6 and 7 in Lafia, carries the theme “Bold Transitions: Building a Legacy for a Sustainable Future.” The governor unveiled the summit in early April at the Abdullahi Sule Investment Centre along Muhammadu Buhari Way, Lafia, formally launching the preparatory calendar for the event.
The third summit is expected to attract over 1,000 businesses and investors to the state to further boost its economic potential.
What distinguishes this edition from its predecessors is the explicitly political dimension it has taken on. With the 2027 electoral cycle approaching and Governor Sule constitutionally ineligible for another term, the summit has been designed to address a question that investors have been quietly asking: what happens to Nasarawa’s investment-friendly environment after this administration?
The governor has been direct in his answer.
“We want investors to know that what we have built is not going to disappear after we leave. The institutions will remain. The policies will remain. That is the message of this summit,” he said.
To give that assurance institutional form, the summit will feature the launching of the Lafia Declaration, described as a voluntary commitment to build political consensus for continuity by key stakeholders, including gubernatorial aspirants, the legislature, the judiciary, development partners, and investors, with a view to sustaining the state’s economic reform trajectory beyond the political cycle.
It is an unusual move for a Nigerian state government — bringing together political rivals around an economic compact — and it reflects the extent to which NASIDA and the Governor Sule administration view investor confidence as something that must be actively defended, not assumed.
The programme for the summit will include high-level policy dialogues, an investment boardroom, investment showcases, MSME competitions, and strategic engagements with both global and local investors.
A deal room for investors and policy discussions centred on the Nasarawa Gas Master Plan, described as vital for industrial growth, will also feature prominently.
Ministers, industry giants from within and outside the state, are expected to grace the event while Vice President Kashim Shettima will attend as Special Guest of Honour, in addition to other corporate, development and political leaders within and beyond Nigeria.
The NASIDA boss, Ibrahim Abdullahi, has described the summit in terms that go beyond numbers.
“The whole world is watching, particularly with the political transition ahead. The question is what happens to these reforms. This summit provides the opportunity to engage political actors and ensure continuity,” he said.
For a state that was once known more for its proximity to Abuja than for any economic identity of its own, the story NASIDA has helped write over three summits is one that commands attention.
Whether the third edition consolidates that story or opens new chapters will depend on what happens in Lafia on May 6 and 7. What is not in doubt is that the agency has transformed a once-routine question — why invest in Nasarawa? — into one with answers worth travelling to hear.
