DIPLOMAN TIMES

Plateau State presented an investment and industrialisation agenda at the 21st Abuja International Trade Fair, while the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced plans to acquire 20 hectares for an Industrial Park and ACCI Annex.

The announcement by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry formed part of Plateau State Special Day at the 21st Abuja International Trade Fair. The event, themed Resilience: Trade, Taxation and the Economy, brought together investors, diplomats, exhibitors and government representatives, with Plateau's pavilion presenting products and opportunities from the state's 17 local government areas.

Governor Caleb Mutfwang's address, delivered by the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Musa Ibrahim Ashoms, placed emphasis on the formalisation of 27,000 cooperative societies into bankable enterprises, value-chain industrialisation and pro-enterprise tax reforms. The Governor described cooperatives as economic vehicles and presented their formalisation as part of a wider approach to strengthening enterprise activity.

The state also highlighted Plateau Arabica Coffee, which the publication said scored 84.6 percent in Brazil, as an example of the administration's focus on processing, branding and global certification. The government said industrial clusters, cooperation with SMEDAN and ICT-driven registration would support the formalisation of businesses while improving the relationship between taxation and economic activity.

ACCI Director-General Agabaedu Jideani described Plateau's pavilion as the finest pavilion at the fair, while Executive Director of Abuja Trade Centre and fair curator Ezekwesili Nnaemeka Nnam disclosed the planned 20-hectare acquisition for the ACCI Annex and Industrial Park. The facility was presented as an avenue to support skills, production and MSME formalisation.

The trade-fair programme also showcased Plateau potatoes, Arabica coffee, processed agricultural products, solid minerals and crafts. Participants called attention to the state's agricultural and mineral resources and its tourism and hospitality potential. The 20-hectare industrial park remains a planned investment, while the state has positioned cooperative formalisation, processing, enterprise development and trade infrastructure as components of its broader investment agenda.