NASENI Restores 375 Tractors, Launches National Asset Restoration Programme in Borno

By Luka Musa The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has launched the National Assets Restoration Programme with the revitalization of 375 tractors in Borno State, aiming to rescue thousands of neglected public assets across Nigeria and reposition the agricultural sector for greater productivity. Vice President Kashim Shettima, who commissioned the tractors at […]

By Luka Musa

The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has launched the National Assets Restoration Programme with the revitalization of 375 tractors in Borno State, aiming to rescue thousands of neglected public assets across Nigeria and reposition the agricultural sector for greater productivity.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, who commissioned the tractors at the Borno State Agricultural Mechanization Agency, Farm Centre, Maiduguri on Sunday, June 8, 2025, described the initiative as a revolutionary shift in Nigeria’s value system and maintenance culture.

The 375 tractors, previously abandoned and left in disrepair were revitalized by NASENI in collaboration with its technical partner, Machine and Equipment Corporation Africa (MECA). The project is the first outcome of NASENI’s broader ambition to restore thousands of broken-down government assets across Nigeria.

Vice President Shettima, who presided over the commissioning, said “This initiative is a response to our cross-generational dilemma about what to do with abandoned and poorly maintained assets of the nation and the people..It’s a powerful shift in how we think about value, sustainability, and innovation,” the Vice President said.

He stressed the need to have a national inventory of value waiting to be unlocked, and as such “We must commend NASENI for stepping forward with this brilliant idea to mitigate a national tragedy.” The Vice President also noted NASENI’s contributions to national development through technology transfer, local engineering, and adaptive innovation, especially in areas such as compressed natural gas (CNG) retrofitting, renewable energy, and agricultural mechanization.

“We can’t create durable Nigerian solutions to Nigerian problems unless we localize global technologies. Relevant agencies must be supported to point us towards a stabler nation and a promising future,” the Vice President said.

He added that the initiative reflects a shift in the government’s approach to sustainability and innovation. “It fits squarely within the broader vision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration: to build a productive, self-reliant, and diversified economy,” he said.

The Vice President stressed that the government would continue to support initiatives that utilize local capacity to solve Nigerian problems. “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,” he noted.

Vice President Shettima emphasized the urgency of reviving Nigeria’s assets and reversing the poor maintenance culture that has plagued the country for decades. “Enough of investing our scarce resources in ideas and projects that get abandoned halfway through; enough of allowing our critical assets to lie in waste while we budget, year after year, for the problems they were procured to solve,” he said.

He pointed to statistics indicating that Nigeria currently holds over 26,000 units of broken-down but serviceable heavy-duty equipment, and nearly 500,000 component scraps that could be restored or repurposed. He said only 7,000 to 12,000 tractors are currently functional in the country, far below the 2.4 million needed to meet food production targets over the next decade.

“These figures are a reminder of what must be done,” he said, calling for the establishment of a national inventory of dormant yet valuable assets. Shettima lauded NASENI for stepping forward with a solution. “We have seen NASENI at work, playing critical roles in our interventions in compressed natural gas (CNG) retrofitting, renewable energy technologies, and agricultural mechanization,” he said.

He urged Nigerians to take ownership of the initiative. “This initiative can’t succeed without the public. You are the other half of the work. These machines, these tools, and these technologies are the property of each of you of each Nigerian. It’s your collective national inheritance,” he said.

Praising the leadership of NASENI’s Executive Vice Chairman, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, the Vice President noted that the agency’s renewed direction is marked by “vision, urgency, and clarity of purpose. “The direction NASENI is headed is one driven by action, impact, innovation, and awareness of what the nation needs,” he said.

VP Shettima also called for public cooperation in safeguarding the assets that will be restored, explaining that these resources belong to the Nigerian people. “If we restore these vital assets, we must all protect them. These machines, these tools, and these technologies are the property of each of you—of each Nigerian. It’s your collective national inheritance,” he added.

Earlier, the Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, recalled that under the stewardship of Vice President Shettima as Governor of Borno State, 1,000 tractors and implements were procured, along with 1,000 units of planters; 250 units each of groundnut diggers, fertilizer broadcasters, rotovators, and bailers, as well as 25 units of combined harvesters, which is the single largest agricultural machinery investment in the state’s history.

“This National Asset Restoration Programme we are launching would not have been possible without that foundational investment. The governor commended NASENI for its intervention, noting that the agency did not collect any funds from the state government for the restoration work. “The National Assets Restoration Programme we are launching could not have been possible without that foundational investment,” he added.

Gov. Zulum noted that Nigeria requires a minimum of 750,000 functional tractors to meet its agricultural needs, yet less than 10 per cent of that number is currently operational across the country.

“That is why today’s intervention could not have come at a better time. The decision by NASENI to select Borno as the pilot state for the National Asset Restoration Programme is both strategic and timely. It offers us a lifeline to revive damaged assets and restore the capacity of our farmers to cultivate efficiently.

Executive Vice Chairman of NASENI said the restoration of the 375 tractors was part of a larger initiative to recover public assets 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,” Halilu said.

According to him, a national survey revealed that Nigeria has over 47,000 broken-down but serviceable agricultural and law enforcement assets, and replacing them would cost more than ₦14 trillion. “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,” he said.

He estimated that the initiative could lead to national savings of over ₦10 trillion, while also reviving productivity, creating jobs, and improving security. Halilu also reiterated the Agency’s commitment to building local capacity and enabling large-scale technology transfer. “We are turning NASENI into a true national enabler quietly but boldly proving that government can deliver, and that transformation is possible,” he stated.

In his address, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, praised the programme as a welcome development in Nigeria’s agricultural sector. “The National Assets Restoration Programme is a key part of the Renewed Hope Agenda. It will be instrumental in helping us meet our food security goals,” he said.

The Minister highlighted the importance of mechanization in modern agriculture and said the programme addresses a major gap caused by idle and broken-down machinery.

Engr. Mohammed Yadudu, Programme Coordinator of Asset Restore at NASENI, explained that the agency began work on the programme in December 2024 with technical support from MECA. “We started by identifying and restoring idle government assets that had fallen into disuse but held immense value for the agricultural economy,” he said.

NASENI’s EVC Halilu noted that “this is not the end, it’s the beginning. The assets we restore must be maintained. The systems we build must be scaled. And the culture we’re creating, of making things work and keeping them working must spread far beyond NASENI,” he said.

Halilu called on ministries, departments, agencies, and security outfits to adopt a new mindset. “Let us treat every machine, every tool, every part not as a sunk cost, but as a strategic national asset. Let us build a Nigeria where things are made to last,” he added.

The commissioning event drew several dignitaries including Engr. Jennifer Adighije, MD/CEO of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC); Dr. Mohammed Bulama, Director General of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN); Hon. Mohammed Abba Isa, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities; and Dr. Muhammed Dahiru, Chairman, Presidential Implementation Committee on Technology Transfer.

Also in attendance were members of the Borno State Executive Council, including Malam Bukar Tijani, Secretary to the State Government; Engr. Bawu Musami, Borno State Commissioner of Agriculture; Abdulkarim Lawan, Speaker of Borno State House of Assembly; members of the National Assembly, and other top government officials.

The NASENI Asset Restoration Programme is seen as a pivotal step in reducing dependency on imports, promoting local engineering capacity, and addressing the infrastructure deficit in key economic sectors, particularly agriculture.

With the successful commissioning of 375 tractors in Borno, the federal government is optimistic about the programme’s replication in other states, thereby unlocking the full potential of idle national assets across the country.