…Commissions 375 refurbished tractors
Vice President, Kashim Shettima, on Sunday, commissioned over 375 refurbished tractors in Maiduguri as part of the Federal Government’s effort to revive mechanized agriculture through the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI)’s Asset Restoration Programme.
He also lauded the agency’s national asset revival effort as 47,000 tractors worth over N14 trillion are being prepared for revitalisation.
The event, held at the Borno State Agricultural Mechanization Agency’s Farm Centre, marked a strategic moment in the campaign to restore idle government assets and breathe new life into Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
Speaking at the launch, the Vice President described the initiative as a transformative national response to decades of neglect. “This initiative, NASENI Asset Restoration Programme, is a response to our cross-generational dilemma about what to do with abandoned and poorly maintained assets owned by the nation and the people. It’s a powerful shift in how we think about value, sustainability, and innovation, and I believe that’s what we’ve promised the nation,” Shettima declared.
He noted that the programme aligns squarely with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s broader vision for economic recovery, self-sufficiency, and national productivity. “It fits squarely within the broader vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration: to build a productive, self-reliant, and diversified economy. Our goal, therefore, is to ease this transition to expand the potential and productivity of Nigeria’s agricultural, industrial, and creative sectors through smart investments in infrastructure, skills, and innovation,” he said.
Shettima commended NASENI for its foresight, saying the agency had taken bold and necessary steps to confront a national tragedy that had seen vital machinery and infrastructure fall into disuse.
“We must commend NASENI for stepping forward with this brilliant idea to mitigate a national tragedy. Beyond this promise to refurbish hardware, NASENI has shown a great capacity to serve as a national nerve centre for technology transfer, home-grown engineering, and adaptive innovation. This is why we must support them.”
In his remarks, Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, traced the roots of the restored tractors back to an earlier initiative spearheaded by Shettima during his tenure as state governor.
“These tractors being commissioned were procured by Sen. Kashim Shettima when he was the executive governor of Borno State. He procured 1,000 tractors with their implements,” Zulum stated.
He described that investment as the single largest of its kind not only in Borno but across Nigeria, adding that “the National Assets Restoration Programme we are launching could not have been possible without that foundational investment.” He praised NASENI for restoring the tractors without taking a single naira from the state government.
Delivering the keynote address, NASENI’s Executive Vice Chairman, Mr. Khalil Suleiman Halilu, explained the deeper rationale behind the restoration drive. “We are building local capacity, developing talent pipelines, and enabling technology transfer at scale. We are turning NASENI into a true national enabler—quietly but boldly proving that government can deliver, and that transformation is possible.”
He revealed that the journey began with a hard look at neglected infrastructure across the country. “When we set out to design the Asset Restoration Programme at NASENI, we were not just looking for another project to tick off. We were confronting a reality: that all across Nigeria, from farms to security outposts, public assets worth trillions of naira had been written off, locked away, or left to rust—not because they were beyond repair, but because there was no clear system to bring them back to life.”
Halilu cited a national survey indicating that over 47,000 broken-down but serviceable agricultural and law enforcement assets lie dormant across the country, with an estimated replacement cost of over N14 trillion. “But at NASENI, we asked a simple question: Why replace what we can restore?” he said. “With the right engineering, the right people, and the right partnerships, we found that we can recover these assets for just 15 to 25% of their replacement value—and still achieve full functionality. That is over N10 trillion in national savings, while reviving productivity, jobs, and security on the ground.”
He expressed gratitude to President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima for believing in the agency’s mission and offering steady encouragement. “We must not only think big—but act fast,” he noted. Halilu also thanked Governor Zulum for the opportunity to pilot the programme in Borno, transforming the state into “the first node in this national restoration network.”
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, who also spoke at the occasion, described the initiative as a welcome development, especially at a time when the nation is pushing to meet its food security targets. He commended the EVC of NASENI for his vision in reviving and repositioning the agency as a critical instrument in delivering national development goals.
Earlier, the programme coordinator, Engr. Mohammed Yadudu, noted that NASENI, in partnership with the Machine and Equipment Corporation Africa (MECA), commenced the restoration work in December 2024. He said the goal was to reclaim idle but valuable government machinery that could significantly impact Nigeria’s agricultural economy.
The ceremony was attended by a host of dignitaries including the MD/CEO of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Engr. Jennifer Adighije; Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr. Mohammed Bulama; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities, Hon. Mohammed Abba Isa; members of the Borno State Executive Council; Chairman of the Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer, Dr. Muhammed Dahiru; Secretary to the Borno State Government, Malam Bukar Tijani; Borno State Commissioner of Agriculture, Engr. Bawu Musami; Speaker of the Borno State House of Assembly, Abdulkarim Lawan; members of the National Assembly and other top government officials.