Nigeria's Edo State Government formally signed an agreement with a Chinese company on April 27, 2026 to build a cement plant with an annual capacity of 10 million tons in the state. According to local media reports, the Edo State Commissioner for Information and Strategic Affairs, Kasim Afegbua, revealed at a press conference in Benin City that the preliminary ground works of the project are expected to be officially launched in mid-May 2026. He said that even the start of the project itself is expected to create a large number of employment opportunities and have a positive impact on alleviating local social problems. In a media briefing
, Afegbua further elaborated on the strategic significance of the project. He pointed out that after the completion of the 10 million-ton cement plant, it will not only directly promote employment growth, but also strongly promote the industrialization process and overall economic development of Edo State. He stressed that under the leadership of Governor Mone Okpebolo, the current government is committed to making the visible and tangible development gains felt by the residents of the three senatorial districts in southern, central and northern Edo State. Ongoing infrastructure projects, civil service reform and continued revenue growth are all strong evidence of substantial progress across the state. In terms of
financial support, Afegbua attributed the improvement in the funding situation to two factors. First, after the abolition of federal fuel subsidies, the federal allocation to the States has increased accordingly. Second, the internal revenue of the state governments has increased significantly, and the average monthly internal revenue has reached the level of 9.5 billion to 10 billion naira. At the level of governance reform, the government is vigorously promoting the construction of e-government, abandoning the old system that had stagnated due to lack of accessibility, and creating a new e-governance platform with more interaction and inclusiveness to enhance the transpar ancy and operational efficiency of ministries, departments and institutions, which is expected to be officially launched in the near future. In the civil service, the government has completed the recruitment of more than 1000 new employees, solved the promotion problem that had been pending for up to eight years, restored the confidence of the civil service, ensured the timely payment of salaries, and made the overall system more stable and efficient.
In the field of infrastructure and social livelihood, the current government has also invested a lot of resources. Projects to rehabilitate roads, upgrade schools and improve medical facilities are ongoing, with some 35 primary health-care centres completed and equipped. In particular, Afegboua mentioned that the construction of the Benin-Ochi road corridor has significantly improved road visibility and played a positive role in reducing the frequency of kidnapping cases along the route. In terms of security, the state government is strengthening its collaboration with security agencies, establishing specialized personnel camps and deploying local intelligence networks to curb criminal activities. In addition, in order to alleviate the travel costs of residents, the government also plans to introduce 100 compressed natural gas buses, 50 of which will provide free services. In the field of agriculture, the government has continued to increase investment in cassava, rice and oil palm production to further enhance agricultural participation and output levels.
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