FG Intensifies Sugar Sector Reforms as Minister Inspects LASUCO

The Minister of State for Industry, Senator John Owan Enoh, has begun a series of strategic inspections of sugar projects nationwide as part of efforts to reform and strengthen Nigeria’s sugar sector.

The inspection exercise commenced at the Lafiagi Sugar Company (LASUCO) in Kwara State, in line with the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to fast-track Nigeria’s drive toward self-sufficiency in sugar production.

During the visit, the Minister conducted an extensive tour of LASUCO’s integrated sugar complex, inspecting the sugar mill, ethanol plant, power facilities, irrigation infrastructure, and more than 700 hectares of established sugarcane plantations. The BUA Group-owned project is structured as a 10,000-tonne cane-per-day sugar mill and is expected to produce up to 220,000 metric tonnes of refined sugar annually when fully operational.

Senator Enoh commended the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Mr. Kamar Bakrin, for his efforts in motivating and closely monitoring operators under the Backward Integration Programme (BIP). He noted that the scale of infrastructure, level of investment, and degree of progress observed at LASUCO demonstrate a clear commitment to the objectives of the programme.

The Minister stated that President Tinubu has mandated him, in collaboration with the NSDC leadership, to ensure that operators move beyond planning stages and advance decisively to full-scale production.

While acknowledging the progress made at the Lafiagi project, Senator Enoh stressed the urgent need to accelerate sugarcane cultivation to align with the factory’s installed capacity, emphasizing that rapid farm expansion is essential for full operational readiness.

He reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to sustained engagement with credible investors, traditional institutions, and host communities as Nigeria intensifies efforts to revitalise the sugar industry, conserve foreign exchange, generate employment, and strengthen industrial value chains.