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Tag: Chief Audu Ogbeh

  • Food crisis imminent, says minister

    Food crisis imminent, says minister

    • Govt warns of quelea birds, grassshoppers’ invasion

    The Federal Government yesterday warned of an imminent food crisis if quelea birds, locusts and grasshoppers gathering in Niger Republic are allowed  entry into the country.

    Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh gave the warning during an emergency meeting with state commissioners of Agriculture in the 12 states in the country yesterday in Abuja.

    The Commissioners of Agriculture in Kebbi, Zamfara, Sokoto and Jigawa states have confirmed the presence of the birds in about six -seven local governments areas in the n states.

    Ogbeh stated that the presence of army warm had already started affecting grains in some parts of the country.

    This, he said, had led to increase in the price of maize to N15,000 in the country.

    He also stated that if the quelea birds and locusts as well as grasshoppers are allowed to enter into the country, they would do terrible damage to the farms.

    According to him, Nigeria is already facing maize crisis, adding that if the birds are added to the crisis, the country would be in turmoil.

    Ogbeh said: “There is warning that we have received that locusts and quelea birds are massing up in Niger Republic from where they normally attack us in Nigeria.

    “We know how dangerous quelea birds can be and locusts. If they arrive within hours and days, they would have wiped out everything the farmers would have put in the field.

    “We already have maize crisis. We may have food problems if we are attacked. This country would be in turmoil. We can’t afford that.

    “The army warm is another problem. We already have severe shortages of maize. You know the price rose to N15,000 as a result of that.

    “Most of the poultry farms are in trouble and many families are hungry. We have got to start working together like this to deal with these things as soon as there is any sign of them.

    “We must have an emergency team between you and ourselves to tackle these issues very swiftly.

    “Now we know they will come. We have to design a strategy where chemicals are available in all the states and contingency steps can be taken quickly.”

    Ogbeh added that President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the ministry to find solutions to the problem.

    According to Wikipedia online.com, quelea bird is a genus of small passerine birds that belongs to the weaver family ploceidae, confined to Africa.

  • ‎FG explains why it can’t stop non-Nigerian herdsmen

    ‎FG explains why it can’t stop non-Nigerian herdsmen

    The Federal Government, yesterday, gave the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol as a reason why non-citizens of Nigeria are still allowed to graze their cattle across the country.

    It has been established that many herdsmen who are involved in clashes in Nigerian villages were not Nigerians.

    The ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol, the government stated, has given the right of free movement to citizens of member countries.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who disclosed this at the opening of a two -day Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum on Grazing Reserves and Stock Routes in Abuja on Thursday, told journalists that the law is similar to the fundamental right to freedom of movement in the Nigerian constitution.

    Chief Ogbeh said: “The Nigerian constitution has given every citizen the fundamental right to freedom of movement in search of legitimate businesses; transhumance pastoralism is seen along these lines.

    “For pastoralists from neighbouring West African countries, access to grazing rights in other countries in the ECOWAS zone including Nigeria, are guaranteed by the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol of 1998 and ECOWAS Protocol of Free Movement of Goods and Persons in West Africa.”

    Ogbeh stated that the ECOWAS Transhumance Protocol allows for herders to move across borders in search of pasture upon fulfilling the conditions laid down in the Protocol.

    “So it is not strange to see a Malian, Burkinabe or Nigerien pastoralist grazing his cows, sheep or goats in Nigeria or a Nigerian pastoralist grazing his livestock in Benin, Togo or Ghana and by extension, transhumance pastoralists from other neighbouring countries,” he added.

    The minister noted that pastoralists who provided bulk of livestock and dairy products consumed locally, employ mobility as a production strategy.

    ‎Chief Ogbeh, regretted that the movement of animals within and across agro-ecological zones had precipitated resource use competition that had resulted in high incidence of conflicts between crop farmers and pastoralists across the country.

    ‎According to Ogbeh, the conflict had taken a massive tool on the nation’s economy, stressing that, “the present deadly conflicts reportedly occur mostly between the Nigerian transhumance herders and/or the cross border transhumance pastoralists on hand and the local crop farmers on the other.”

    On ways to mitigate the conflict between the groups and promote commercial livestock production, the minister stated that grazing reserves and stock routes development and utilization had been stepped up in recent years.

    “The grazing reserves are to settle transhumant pastoralists and reduce/eliminate crop farmer-pastoralist conflicts,” he stated.

  • FG to probe GES scheme

    The Federal Government has said it will probe the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme initiated by the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, for farmers in the country.

    The Minister of ‎Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, disclosed this while receiving Senate Committee on Agriculture led by Senator Abdullahi Adamu in Abuja, Tuesday.

    He said the probe became necessary to ‎check the anomalies in quality of seed distributed to farmers as well as financial claims allegedly spent on the farm input especially in 2015.

    The GES scheme was a farm support ‎initiative where registered farmers in the country paid 50 per cent cost for seeds and fertilizers.

    The minister told the Senate that the agriculture ministry spent huge sum on the GES but currently owes some agro-dealers, who took part in the programme.

    Ogbeh said:‎ “We have challenges of seed. Last year under the GES scheme, seed supply happened but the quality of seeds that was sold was not too good. We are dealing with some of those issues now.

    “Even the figures branded around as being spent on seed are so high that we are investigating them because we don’t even have the money to pay. We are also dealing on payment of fertilisers. Mr. President was kind enough to help us find money to clear those arrears, so we can begin to plan for fertilizer blending for this season.”

     

     

  • Highlights of ministerial screening

    Highlights of ministerial screening

    A ministerial nominee from Akwa Ibom, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, sets the ball rolling.

    He has been asked to take a “bow and go.”

    The next nominee to enter the podium is a former governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

    Rights activist, Shehu Sanni, asked the ex-governor if truly he escaped through an unconventional border during the late Gen. Sani Abacha era.

    Fayemi said, “I did not borrow to pay salaries, but borrowed to fund capital projects for Ekiti.”

    He has also been asked to take a ” bow and go.”

    The next nominee to face the senators is Chief Audu Ogbeh.

    The ex-National chairman of the PDP has been asked to take a ” bow and go.”

    The next ministerial nominee is Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu.

    He is acknowledging cheers from the senators.

    He has been asked to take a ” bow and go.”

    The next ministerial nominee is Dr. Osagie Ehanire from Edo State.

    He will take questions from senators.

    The nominee has been asked to take a ” bow and go.”

    In all five ministerial nominees have been cleared by the Senate.

    The sixth nominee, Lt. Gen.Abdulrahman Danbazzau (rtd), takes to the podium to take questions from senators.

    Lt. Gen. Danbazzau has been asked to take a ” bow and go.”

    The APC National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, is the next nominee to face the senators.

    He took six bows before the lawmakers – three for Saraki and three for the Senators.

    Mohammed has been asked to take a ” bow and go.”

    Seven ministerial nominees have now been cleared by the Senators. We have three more to go.

    A female ministerial nominee, Amina Mohammed, is now addressing the Senators.

    After her address, she will take questions from the lawmakers.

    After taking few questions, she has been asked to take a ” bow and go.”

    The ninth nominee, Suleiman Adamu, is now addressing the senators.

    Adamu has been asked to take a ” bow and go.”

    The last nominee for today, Ibrahim Jubril Adamu, is introducing himself to the senators.

    He is a ministerial nominee from Jigawa State.

    He has also been asked to take a ” bow and go.”

    Adamu’s clearance by the Senate ended the proceedings for today.

    All the 10 ministerial nominees that faced the senators on Tuesday have been confirmed as ministers.

    The exercise will continue on Wednesday with the screening of second set of nominees.