Governor Zulum Pushes Export Drive, Seeks Port Access For Borno Businesses

Borno State Governor Zulum has engaged the NPA to expand port access and boost exports for local producers.

Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum has intensified efforts to reposition Borno State as an export-driven economy, holding high-level talks with the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in Lagos to integrate the state’s producers into Nigeria’s maritime value chain.

At the strategic meeting on Tuesday, Zulum made a strong case for expanding access to port infrastructure for businesses in Nigeria’s North-East, stressing that unlocking export pathways is critical to transforming Borno’s largely agrarian economy into a hub for trade, industry and investment.

The governor, who was received by NPA Managing Director Abubakar Dantsoho alongside Executive Director Ibrahim Abba Umar, said his administration is focused on linking local producers, particularly in agriculture and small-scale manufacturing to both regional and international markets.

The visit underscores a broader economic shift underway in Borno since 2019, as the Zulum administration moves to rebuild and diversify an economy long battered by insurgency, weak infrastructure and heavy dependence on federal allocations.

Central to that strategy is the long-delayed Maiduguri Dry Inland Port project, which Zulum has consistently championed. During an earlier engagement with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the governor pressed for the fast-tracking of the inland port, designed to bring shipping and cargo services closer to landlocked northern states.

Once operational, the facility is expected to drastically cut transportation costs, ease congestion at coastal ports, and open up export channels for goods produced in the North-East—while also creating thousands of jobs and boosting internally generated revenue.

Beyond port access, Zulum is also advancing cross-border trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework, with plans at an advanced stage to establish a Free Trade Zone in Banki, a strategic border town near Cameroon.

The Banki initiative is expected to serve as a gateway for regional commerce, positioning Borno as a critical node in West and Central African trade corridors, while leveraging AfCFTA’s single-market vision to attract investors and stimulate industrial growth.

Together, the twin projects—the Maiduguri Dry Inland Port and the Banki Free Trade Zone form the backbone of what officials describe as a deliberate and coordinated economic blueprint aimed at long-term resilience.