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Tag: Heineken Lokpobiri

  • Stakeholders to Lokpobiri: run for Bayelsa governor

    Stakeholders under the auspices of the Bayelsans Arise for Good Governance (BAGG), on Saturday appealed to the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development,  Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, to contest the forthcoming governorship election in the state.

    BAGG said Lokpobiri, a former Speaker of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, a two-time Senator and a current minister, was qualified to vie for the position.

    The group in a statement at the weekend by its spokesman, Mr. Sufadoh Boloyi Sufadoh said the minister, with his antecedents and political pedigree,  was better positioned to promote good governance and deliver on democracy dividends in the state.

    Sufodoh described Lokpobiri as a grassroots politician with knack for excellence and sincere service to the state.

    Read Also: Bayelsa Assembly members get life pensions

    Sufadoh said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the centre needed a very strong standard bearer, rational and decisive enough to check the alleged excesses of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.

    He said: “The battle is not for the faint-hearted or the lilly-livered, neither is it for the clueless without a sincere desire to change the status quo and install purposeful leadership for the people of the oil-rich state.

    “The state needs a strong-willed governor with vast political experience and track record of service to his people at the state and federal levels, one with robust supporters who move at his direction.

    “Lokpobiri was the person who moved the motion in the Senate that saw to the release of N600bn owed the Niger Delta Development Commission by the Federal Government.

    “As the Chairman of Senate Committee on Water Resources in his second legislative journey at the National Assembly, through that portfolio, he was able to lobby and attract various water projects to Bayelsa.

    “We are motivated to root for Lokpobiri because of his avowed commitment and determination to tame the tide of the dreaded and cancerous menace of corruption that has eaten deep into the state’s civil service and local government administration.

    “At this crucial point of our state’s history, we cannot bargain to take a gamble electing a neophyte to steer the ship of our state so it shall not sail aground but float.

    “Suffice it to say that Lokpobiri has not just been an elected house of assembly member, a former senator but he is currently the minister of state for agriculture and rural development.

    “He is occupying that slot on behalf of Bayelsans. He has made tremendous impact on that front too by attracting various agricultural and rural development gains to the state.”

    Sufodoh noted that the APC could not afford to lose a crucial state arguing that Bayelsa should be aligned to the Centre to attract development.

    “The goose that lays the golden egg should reap in the dividends through a governor who can create a symbiotic relationship with the executive at the federal level.

    “This is a clarion call on Senator Heineken Lokpobiri to contest the forthcoming Bayelsa State governorship election and he should, without hesitation, accede to it,” Sufadoh said.

     

     

  • Lokpobiri lied to Buhari on Bayelsa airport, says Dickson

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has debunked the claim by the Minister of State for Agriculture Senator Heineken Lokpobiri that the Bayelsa International Airport was built at N120bn.

    Dickson said that it was most unexpected of a person of the status of a Minister to feed the President and public with false information inspired by bitterness.

    Dickson, in a statement by his Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Relations, Mr. Fidelis Soriwei, explained the Bayelsa Airport was built at N60bn and not some imagined figures being dangled by Lokpobiri.

    He said the contract for the Airport was executed by Dantata and Sawoe, a Nigerian firm which could be contacted for the contractual sum.

    The governor said that while it would have been proper to ignore Lokpobiri and the imagined figures he dished out to the President and other Nigerians during the APC Presidential rally in Yenagoa, it was important to put the records straight and to spare the society from the mischief of misinformation.

    Dickson also faulted the claim by Lokpobiri the airport was a seasonal facility which was affected by the last flood in the country.

    He said that the airport equipped with the most standard and longest run away in the country was built with the 2012 flood which devastated parts of the country in mind.

    He said that the claim by Lokpobiri the airport was flooded last year was a failed attempt to discredit the achievements of the Restoration Government led by Dickson.

    Read Also: Dickson raises fresh security concerns ahead of polls

    He said: “The Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, told President Muhammadu Buhari and the Public that the Bayelsa International Airport was built at a cost of N120 billion.

    “The Minister went further to say that the airport is a seasonal airport which was affected by the flood that ravaged Bayelsa and other parts of Nigeria in 2018.

    “It would have been logical to ignore the claims of Lokpobiri as the rantings of a politician on a mission to cause mischief through misinformation but for the need to set the records straight in the interest of the discerning public.

    “For the records, the Bayelsa International Cargo Airport which is scheduled to have its inaugural flight on Thursday was built at a cost of N60 billion.

    “Lokpobiri’s claim that the Airport which was built with a high runway with the 2012 flood in mind, was flooded in 2018, is even more shocking and indeed gives insight into his brand of politics.

    “It is a fact beyond contestation that the Bayelsa International Airport was never flooded and therefore cannot be regarded as a seasonal airport as claimed by Lokpobiri.”

    “I call on Bayelsans and indeed all Nigerians to ignore the spurious claims being made by Lokpobiri about this celebrated feat in Bayelsa, the Ijaw nation and the nation’s aviation sector.”

  • Lokpobiri, Sylva protest killings of APC members in Bayelsa

    The Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and a former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, on Monday marched the streets of Yenagoa, the state capital, to protest killings of APC members in Bayelsa.

    Sylva and Lokpobiri led other party leaders including members of the state working committee of APC and candidates of the party on a six-kilometre march to the office of the state Commissioner of Police, Aminu Saleh.

    They were joined by hundreds of APC supporters, who carried placards of various inscriptions chanting solidarity songs.

    The aggrieved party leaders and their supporters, who commenced the protest at their party secretariat in Kpansia, caused traffic gridlock along the Yenagoa-Mbiama road.

    The angry politicians lamented unresolved killings of their party members in Brass, Yenagoa and the latest incident in Tungbobiri, Sagbama, where an APC member was killed in a rally organised by the party.

    Hoodlums numbering 16 invaded an APC rally in Tungbobiri community killing a 32-year-old youth identified as Braye Embikorobiri and injuring 16 others.

    Speaking at the police command, Sylva accused the new Police Commissioner, Mr Aminu Saleh of partisanship in his handling of security matters in the state and urged him to give equal treatments to all parties.

    He specifically said the commissioner was mainly protecting the interests of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the detriment of APC members in the state.

    Sylva alleged that the APC strongly felt that the police boss was also working for the Presidential Candidate of the PDP, Atiku Abubakar, against the APC candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari.

    For instance, he claimed that the police supervised the pulling down of Buhari’s billboard and its replacement with the campaign poster of Atiku.

    He said: “In Brass, APC members were killed. A team of investigators came here to arrest someone, who participated in that killing, but he was not arrested. And that is the end of that story. Our people have been killed. You remember we were doing a rally and they came with a vehicle and shot into our rally and killed two people.

    Read Also: Sylva to Dickson: you have no fear of God

    “Nothing has happened. Now they have taken the law into their hands. They have killed again in Sagbama. Every day, our people are being killed and the police are not doing enough.

    “We came to tell the commissioner of police and send a strong message to the Inspector-General that something should be done about all these killings immediately. If not we will resort to protecting ourselves if the police cannot protect us.

    “Let the police protect because that is their role. Last week, I was here to complain about our president’s billboard being brought down in Bayelsa and today that same place where the president’s billboard was removed, an Atiku billboard had been erected and the people that escorted them to that place were the police. Let the police prove to us beyond reasonable doubt that the police is not a PDP police. Our people must be protected”.

    Also speaking, Lokpobiri asked the police commissioner to prove the party wrong by arresting persons involved in the Brass, Yenagoa and Sagbama killings.

    Addressing Saleh, he said: “To prove that the police are not PDP police, you have to effect immediate arrest of those responsible for the killings in Sagbama and in Brass and Yenagoa. I was in the Senate for eight years.

    “Even as a senator, frivolous allegations were made against me and I was arrested within 24 hours. Police did there preliminary investigations before I was released. Those, who were involved have no immunity.

    “Prove us wrong and provide security for all political parties. APC is very lawful while PDP is unlawful. Our campaign has been based on issues and let the PDP base their campaigns on issues without resorting to violence.

    “We want you to do your job. When a complaint is made, effect arrest and after preliminary investigations and nothing is found, you release them on bail. But we cannot continue to allow our members to be harassed and killed. In fact, we should be enjoying protection. We can to request that you should act now”.

    In his reaction, Saleh dismissed the allegations that the Police in the State were biased, insisting that the force had been fair to all parties.

    He said: “We are already working on all the complains. We are investigating. The Nigerian police remain a federal institution and it acts as one. In policing Bayelsa State, we don’t select APC or PDP.

    “We provide security to everyone that comes to us. There are many things about investigations especially if they are not conclusive, we don’t say anything about it. The commissioner of police cannot provide security to only one segment of the community.

    “We shall look into the cases even the ones reported before my arrival, the problem we have is that while a case is being investigated it is not strategic to keep in public domain, but it does not mean that we are not working.

    “On the killing of Saturday, we are already working on it and arrests have been made and I hereby assure you that once we conclude our investigations, we shall brief the general public about it”.

  • World Food Day: FG restates commitment to zero hunger

    The Federal Government has restated its commitment to zero food hunger by the year 2030 if the present tempo of agricultural activities are sustained in the country.

    Speaking at a symposium to mark the 2018 World Food Day in Abuja with the title, “Our Actions are Our Future: A Zero Hunger World by 2030 is Possible,” in Abuja at the weekend, Minister of State, Agriculture and Rural Development Senator Heineken Lokpobiri pledged the commitment that, “In the next 12 years, Nigeria will join the League of Nations who would be able to feed the world.”

    But the minister was quick to add that this projection can only be attainable if all Nigerians see and treat Agriculture as serious business and not as mere programme.

    He stated that Nigeria must take advantage of its rapidly growing population to invest seriously in agriculture  and that the private sector must take the lead in this project while the Government provides the enabling environment, because Government has proven to be bad business manager.

    The World Food Day is celebrated each year on 16 October to commemorate the founding of the Organization in 1945. Events are organized in over 150 countries across the world, making it one of the most celebrated days of the UN calendar. These events promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger and for the need to ensure food security and nutritious diets for all.

    Lokpobiri maintained also that the state governments must collectively demonstrate seriousness in agriculture by committing at least five percent of their budgets to agriculture, this way, the country would be able to upscale the agricultural production.

    This was as he commended the efforts of some States like Kebbi, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Ogun, etc in agriculture and urged other states of the federation to emulate the same examples because collectively Nigeria will achieve the set target.

    According to the minister, if Nigeria is able to feed itself, it would have been able to solve the issue of hunger and malnutrition in the black race and by extension Africa, which is, “a bold step in guaranteeing food for all in the world.”

    The minister was worried that if we do not achieve the zero hunger target, he foresaw a situation where, “people will be eating food and it will be snatched away from them forcefully by the hungry citizens.”

    He said it is established fact that the world has made unbelievable progress in the fight against hunger, which has led to the decline in the number of hungry people in the world, but regretted that this success is being threatened by the growing global population.

    This is also as Lokpobiri expressed concerns that the resolve for Food self sufficiency may be hampered by the current herdsmen/farmers crises in some northern parts of the country.

    “Prolonged crisis, especially in the north eastern part and other parts of the country that have experienced incessant clashes of herdsmen and farmers is also an issue of concern,” the minister said.

    Country Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Nigeria, Suffyan Koroma stated that over the past forty years, FAO in Nigeria has been working closely with the Government of Nigeria to advance sustainable agriculture and food systems with great optimism towards achieving Zero Hunger in in the country.

    He appreciated the continued commitment of the Government of Nigeria in forging strong partnerships for nourishing, nurturing and growing a prosperous and peaceful Nigeria where all Nigerians thrive and contribute to socio-economic development.

    According to him, achieving Zero Hunger is FAO’s shared commitment, which can be achieved through a Right based approach.

  • Buhari secures 210, 201 votes in Bayelsa

    President will trounce opposition in 2019 says Lokpobiri

     

    President Muhammadu Buhari got 210,201 votes in the Presidential primary election of the All Progressives Congress held in Bayelsa State on Saturday.

    The internal poll, which held in 105 wards of the state, were conducted by party leaders, including former Governor Timipre Sylva, who relocated to the hinterland to deliver the President through direct primary.

    The leaders, who took charge of their various wards, ensured that the primary election was peaceful as party members lined up in an Option A4 method to cast their votes.

    The Returning Officer and Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, said the exercise was conducted according to the directive of the party.

    “I hereby certify that the total votes score by President Muhammad Buhari was 210,201. The result is authentic and legal as it met the rules and regulation that it must be done in all the units and wards of the state”, the minister said.

    Lokpobiri appealed to party members to display similar peaceful conducts in the remaining primary elections in the state.

    The minister said the 2019 Presidential election was already won by the President adding the Buhari would win by landslide.

    Read Also: Bayelsa partners Customs on cargo airport

    He said: “It is already won by a wide margin. APC has already recorded 18million membership across the country and more are joining.

    “More persons are also joining because of performance and credibility of the President. Before President Buhari took over, the rice was being imported daily at $6bn but now, there is no need to import rice because we produce rice locally. In Bayelsa, Ogunboss produces and bags good rice.

    “Before now, donor agencies had lost confidence in Nigeria, but with the credibility posture of President Buhari, the donor agencies have returned”.

    Lokpobiri also said that the APC was set to win the majority seats at the in the Bayelsa State House of Assembly and the National Assembly.

    “The people of Bayelsa are only waiting to cast their votes for the party. The APC is already coasting to victory in Bayelsa”, he said.

  • Bayelsa APC stockpiling arms to win elections, says PDP

    Allegation spurious to divert attention – APC

     

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Bayelsa State chapter, at the weekend, accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of stockpiling arms in the state as part of its preparations for the 2019 general election.

    The state Chairman of the PDP, Chief Moses Cleopas, alleged in a statement that the leaders of the APC in Bayelsa, Chief Timipre Sylva and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, were assembling weapons to cause violence during the elections.

    But the APC in a separate statement signed by its state Publicity Secretary, Doifie Buokoribo, described the allegation as spurious and an attempt by the PDP to divert people’s attention from its plot to use violence in the election.

    Cleopas said that the PDP leadership raise the alarm to draw the attention of security agencies to the  plot of the APC leaders, whose activities he said led to the death of several innocent people in the last election in 2015.

    He called on security agencies to investigate the sinister activities of the APC members to prevent a repeat of the mayhem and bloodletting that characterized the 2015 election.

    He said that the PDP was not surprised by the strategy of violence adopted by the APC leaders because they promised President Muhammadu Buhari that they would deliver Bayelsa to him even when they lacked the support base and capacity to do so.

    Cleopas said that the PDP remained the party of Bayelsans and was ready to participate in a free, fair and credible election.

    He said: “It has come to the attention of the PDP that the leaders of the APC, Chief Timipre Sylva and the Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr. Heineken Lokpobiri, are leading other members of the party to stockpile arms to cause mayhem in our state.

    Read Also: Bayelsa warns youths against electoral violence, crimes

    “We are not surprised that the APC is contemplating this strategy of violence after having boasted to their leader, President  Buhari, that they would deliver Bayelsa when they are unpopular and have no support base to achieve that.

    “Bayelsans are already aware of the violent reputation of these so called leaders as clearly shown by the orgy of violence they unleashed on innocent citizens in the last election.

    “That is why we are sounding this warning early enough so that the security agencies can quickly wade into this matter and investigate this arms build-up, with a view to arresting those who are behind the planned mayhem.

    “The PDP is prepared for free, fair and credible election devoid of violence, bloodshed and the death of any Bayelsan. The APC should do the same as the ruling party.

    “We want the security agencies to investigate it, we don’t want a repeat of the violence of 2015.”

    Cleopas said that the PDP would not keep silent about the looming violence in the state following arms buildup.

    He said that the leadership of the security agencies had a responsibility to treat the issue with the deserving seriousness to avoid loss of lives.

    “The PDP will not keep quiet over this impending anarchy being planned by the APC for the general elections. We call on the authorities to take this critical issue seriously as it is linked to the Lives of innocent people”, he said.

    In a swift reaction, APC described the alarm as an attempt to prevent people from discovering the truth about another orgy of violence being planned by the PDP.

    Buokoribo said the ruling PDP in the state was planning a reenactment of the electoral violence its members unleashed on APC supporters in 2015 with the personal participation of Governor Seriake Dickson.

    The statement said: “We would have ignored the infantile allegation deployed in the characteristically unintelligible style of PDP in the state under Governor Seriake Dickson.

    “But we are constrained to respond just to warn our people, the good people of Bayelsa, to be wary of Dickson and his gang at a time like this. Their strategy has not changed – flying spurious allegations against the APC to try to divert attention from their demonic plots. What is uncertain is the manner of evil they want to unleash on the people this time.

    “There is an umpteen frantic attempt by the Dickson syndicate to keep the change-inclined masses of Bayelsa bound under a colourless administration bereft of imagination.

    “And the only way they can achieve that is by visiting violence on the electorate. The latest alarm, in their usual manner, is yet another dress rehearsal for the impending violence.

    “The whole world saw it in 2015, when Dickson personally led thugs to the headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Yenagoa and other places around the state to supervise the intimidation of electoral officers and APC agents as well as direct the manhandling of innocent citizens.

    “It would be recalled that allegations quite similarly worded as the latest by PDP preceded that incident that resulted in the loss of lives. APC members were the major victims of that madness by PDP in 2015.

    “Having started with blood, Dickson wants to end with blood, hence the latest practice before the untoward event. His pitiful attempt at a cover-up of his crimes only makes him more of a laughingstock.

    “Bayelsans are not as foolish as Dickson thinks they are. They have since realised the devilish motives beneath his usual alarms, and they are prepared to confront him and his ungodly gang of lawless elements head-on.

    “APC is a peaceful party of peaceful and development-oriented people. We shall remain so, despite being victims of PDP violence, and will remain committed to seeking justice only through lawful means.

    “We call on the security agencies to follow the obvious lead by Dickson and his people in order to nip in the bud whatever nefarious plans they may have up their sleeve”.

  • I stand by my figures on Bayelsa debts, says Lokpobiri 

    Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development Heineken Lokpobiri yesterday said he stood by his statement that Bayelsa State under Governor Seriake Dickson accumulated N800 billion in domestic debts.

    The minister, in a statement signed by his Media aide, George Oji, said he was shocked and disappointed Dickson was denying the N800 billion indebtedness.

    Dickson, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Public Affairs, Daniel Alabrah, said the minister was peddling falsehood.

    He stressed that the DMO, the authority on states and federal debt profile, put the debts of Bayelsa at N123 billion.

    Dickson said his administration repaid debts incurred by Lokpobiri’s political godfather and leader, Chief Timipre Sylva.

    He said somebody with an analytical mind would know from reports by DMO that Bayelsa’s debt as at 2007 was N27 billion, representing N1.40 per cent of all states’debts.

    Lokpobiri challenged the governor to explain how he spent the money, including $216 million external loans his administration allegedly incurred since 2012.

    He asked the governor to render an account of how he also spent over N1.2 trillion the state got from the federation account in the period.

    Lokpobiri said Dickson should explain the billions of naira allocated to councils, and internally generated revenue.

    He noted that the governor tactically maintained deliberate silence on foreign debts and other trillions the state got.

    The statement said: “For the avoidance of doubt, the minister insists that the state is indebted to the tune of N800 billion (domestic) and $216 million (external)”.

    The minister accused Dickson of borrowing N222 billion internally and $28 million externally in 2012 and threatened to publish amounts the governor borrowed every year from 2012 till date.

    He described as lies claims by the governor that the state was owing only N123 billion as domestic debts.

    “The actual loan profile of Bayelsa State can readily be gleaned from the Debt Management Office (DMO), the official Federal Government outfit, which domiciles all loans for all levels of government in the country, which is open for the public to access on the website of DMO”, the statement said.

    It added: “The minister, who questioned the impact of the huge debts and accruals on the lives and wellbeing of the people of the state, draws a nexus between massive corruption and wastes by the governor and the astronomical rise of insecurity in the state.

    “He insists as usual that the reason why Bayelsa State ranks very high as one of the most insecure states in the country is because of the pervading corruption and wastes that has become the hallmark of the Dickson administration.

    “The minister maintains that had the governor deployed the loans and other financial accruals to the state to positive, wealth-creation and developmental projects, the social problems bedevilling the state today would have been minimally addressed and insecurity would also have been nearly non-existent.

    “Once again, the minister advises the governor to settle in and face the task of providing leadership and good governance, which is the statutory obligation he owes the people of Bayelsa State”.

  • FG spends N2.8bn as compensation to poultry farmers – Lokpobiri

    Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Agriculture, on Tuesday says the Federal Government has spent about N2.8 billion as compensation to poultry farmers who lost their birds to avian influenza nationwide.

    Lokpobiri told newsmen shortly after a familiarisation tour of Agricultural Institutes under Ahmadu Bello University ( ABU ), Zaria, Kaduna State.

    The institutes included Institute for Agricultural Research ( IAR ) and National Agricultural Extension Research and Liaisons Services ( NAERLS ).

    Others are National Animal Production Research Institute ( NAPRI ) and Division of Agricultural Colleges ( DAC ).

    The minister said: “Like I said earlier, we have just paid about N2.8 billion as compensation to people who lost their birds to avian influenza.

    “Meanwhile, NAPRI took over a decade to be able to do research and we are able to get the birds that were resistant to avian influenza.

    “But many Nigerians are not aware, even those that are aware do not know that NAPRI has the capacity to multiply and supply same to the market.

    “Therefore, the institute has no business crying for money, you need to commercialise your research product,” he said.

    The minister observed that commercialisation of research had become a norm globally, hence the need for Nigerian research institutes to join the queue.

    According to him, the professors and researchers are spending so much time and energy doing researches and evolving technologies which should be commercialised by the instututes for maximum benefits to the public.

    “What is the essence of doing a research if you cannot take it to the public, when they commercialise, they will get some additional money on top of what government is giving.

    “This will change the whole dynamics of the agric sector and we have given that mandate to all our research institutes to do a lot more research, government cannot provide sufficient money for them to meet all their needs.

    “But they have to do what they are paid to do, commercialise the research outputs not only to Nigerians but to the whole of the world, so that we can begin to use those products to get money from the rest of the world.”

    Lokpobiri commended the agricultural institutes for a job well done, saying, “I have heard so much about what the institutes are doing and what ABU is doing, I am very happy that I am here today, I have come and I have seen.

    “I will like to come back again and again until we achieve the objective for each of those institutes and you will agree with me agriculture wasn’t receiving the desired attention before this government came into power.

    “But we are trying as much as possible to increase budgetary allocation to agricultural sector on a sustainable basis and the President is committed to ensuring that whether oil is $100 per barrel, agriculture is the way to go.”

    He identified agriculture as the only path for Nigeria to attain self-sufficiency, adding that it was the only sure way to create jobs for the people, curb restiveness, reduce poverty and get people committed.

    Lokpobiri explained that the present government was trying to make agriculture a business, adding that in the past, people see agriculture as a way of life.

    The minister said agriculture had now become a business in every part of the world, adding that the richest people now are farmers.

    “The richest people are those who are investing in agriculture because you may be an investor in oil and gas, I may decide not to patronise you, you may be an investor in textile, production of cars among others.

    “Not everybody has a car but everybody eat food, whether you are poor, rich, healthy, sick, young, old you must eat food, but you may decide to wear one cloth for one year nobody cares.

    “But you can’t eat a plate of food and have it again, so food is the most important industry in the world.

    “Therefore, government is calling on Nigerians to see agriculture as a business, invest in it and create wealth for themselves,” he said.

    NAN

  • FG assures Nigerians of food sufficiency

    FG assures Nigerians of food sufficiency

    Federal Government has assured Nigerians of attainment of food sufficiency in the shortest possible time through the adoption and execution of agricultural investment, financing and implementation plan (2016 – 2020)

    The Honourable Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri made this statement at the 2017 World Food Day Symposium/Colloquium held at the Nigeria Air Force Officers’ Mess and Suites, Kado District, Abuja.

    He stated that the plan is built around 16 policy levers and designed in broad terms to unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s agricultural sector and specifically to achieve food sufficiency, enterprise promotion, productive employment and wealth creation, adding that it will also address the challenges of growing population and declining revenues by promoting agribusiness, aiding economic livelihood and attaining food and nutrition security in the country.

    Read Also: Obaseki reiterates pledge to improve education, social welfare

    Lokpobiri maintained that with the collective effort and firm commitment from all stakeholders within the fold of national and multi-lateral bodies, as well as the achievements made so far in the Agricultural sector, ‘’We are on track in changing the future of migration through accelerated food production and rapid development in our dear country” the Minister quoted.

    Earlier, one of the discussants, the Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Alh. Mustapha Maihaja said that migration occurs whenever there is disaster in a particular environment and the upsurge in the affected community causes shortage of food which poses food insecurity if not carefully checkmated.

    Another discussant, Chijioke Ihuoma Peace, 2016 Female Food Hero, Oxfam Nigeria, revealed that Human migration, not minding the cause affect the small-holder farmers mainly in rural areas because of poor and inadequate financing in their farm business.

    She urged governments at all levels to invest in smallholder farmers in order to stabilize their agribusinesses and consequently reduce migration to the urban centres.

  • NDDC rice mill will end rice importation – Minister

    NDDC rice mill will end rice importation – Minister

    The Federal Government has commended the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) over the completion of rice mill in Elele-Alimini, Emuoha Local Government Area of Rivers.

    The Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, made the commendation during a meeting with NDDC and the Elephant Group in Port Harcourt on Monday.

    He expressed optimism that the mill would ensure food sufficiency in the country in addition to creating thousands of jobs for youths in the Niger Delta region.

    According to him, the rice mill project is part of the Federal Government’s  drive to ensure food security and end rice importation within the shortest possible time.

    “Before the Buhari-led administration took office; the Federal Government spent five million dollars daily on rice importation to the country.

    “NDDC has over the years started building a rice mill which has not been put to use,’’ he said.’

    He explained that the government embarked on the project  is because the region had potential to grow rice in commercial quantity even without fertiliser.

    “The Federal Government believes that the time has come for the country to use the rice mill NDDC has built to create employment and guarantee food security for the masses.

    “The Federal Government wants to make the nation to be self- sufficient in rice production at least by the year 2018,” he said.

    Lokpobiri said that Elephant Group, an indigenous company, would manage the rice mill and employ thousands of workers at the facility.

    He called on state governments and stakeholders to key into the Federal Government’s drive to ensure rice sufficiency in the country.

    The Managing Director of NDDC, Mr Nsima Ekere, said that the commission spent N1.5 billion on the rice mills in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.

    He said that facilities, completed 10 years ago, were left to rot by previous governing boards and management of the commission.

    “When we came on board; we couldn’t come to terms that despite spending huge sums of money building large mills in Akwa Ibom, Lagos and Rivers the projects were not put to use.

    “In-line with the present administration’s zero tolerance to wastages, inefficiency and corruption we decided to work with the Minister of State for Agriculture to revive the facilities.

    “The rice mill would benefit the people of Niger Delta and country at large and add to the new Niger Delta initiative without oil,” he said.

    Ekere said the facility which would soon commence operation would make rice cheap and available to the masses.

    Also, Mr Olatunji Owoeya, the Managing Director of Elephant Group, promised that the facility would be put to judicious use for the benefit of the people of Niger Delta.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt that the facility has capacity to process 180 tonnes of rice daily; an equivalent of 3,600 bags of 50g.