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  • Race for sustainable safe drinking water

    Race for sustainable safe drinking water

    Globally, an estimated 663 million people are living without safe water supply. In Nigeria, about 70 million are said to be affected. Experts believe that access to safe water is one of the most-effective instruments in promoting health and reducing poverty. The importance of this commodity was  stressed at this year’s World Water Day celebration. Amid the citizens’ cry for potable water, the government says it is taking steps to meet their need, MUYIWA LUCAS writes. 

    Original Suffer Head”, an album by the late Afro beat king, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, is generally accepted as one of his greatest hits. The song, released in 1981, captures the sufferings of Nigerians in the battle to have access to clean water. Although Fela is no more to see the continued water challenge in the country and beyond, his song, 36 years after its release, remains a constant reminder to the government and stakeholders ofz the importance of having in place, clean water for the populace.

    The need to have sustainable safe drinking water has now become a global issue. It was, therefore, instructive when the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) included this commodity as one of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target.

    On March 22, this year’s edition of the World Water Day was celebrated to attain sustainable drinking water for all and direct the attention of government to the plight of people without this essential of life. The theme was: “Why Waste Water?”

    Globally, experts say waste water from homes, cities, industries and agriculture flow back to nature. And that since it is not treated or reused, it pollutes water for drinking, bathing, and irrigation, losing valuable nutrients and other recoverable materials.Therefore, it is believed that reducing and safely treating  waste water will make it available for use.

    At an event to mark the day in Abuja, the Minister of Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu, described waste water as “any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic influence,” saying this could originate from a combination of domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, surface run off or storm water from sewer inflow or infiltration.

    Adamu expressed concern that “no part of Nigeria has fresh water of sufficient quantity and quality that can continually be misused, abused and mismanaged in the way it has been in the past decades without dire consequences.”

    The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Mrs. Rabi Jimeta, said waste-water “as a valuable resource in the secular economy and its safe management is an efficient investment in the health of humans and ecosystems.” Therefore, she said, it is pertinent to situate the place of planning and effective management as the crux of proactive policy to give access  to safe water for drinking and providing water for domestic and economic use in the country. Hence, this year’s theme was a booster for the government to leverage the recycling technology as obtainable in other countries with more difficulties to access  water, in resolving multi-sector demands of water in Nigeria to boost sustainable development.

     

    Staggering statistics

    Investment in water infrastructure will play a major role in every nation’s plan for development. As an essential component of national economies, huge investments in water have more benefits towards attaining many of government’s policies. This is why stakeholders are of the opinion that without critically looking at the water sector, it may not be feasible to create and maintain more jobs across the economy because of its usage across the entire economy.

    For instance, a 2016 report of the United Nations World Water Development said half of the global workforce is employed in eight water and natural resource-dependent industries. It is, therefore, pertinent to note that sustainable water management leading to access to clean and safe water is critical to improved living standards and social inclusion. Beyond sanitation, the report further said, only proactive water management can be annexed to drive the green growth and sustainable development. The report disclosed that Africa has about nine percent of the world’s fresh water resources. In  a similar vein, the World Bank reports that African agriculture is mostly rain fed farming; regrettably less than 10 percent of the available cultivated land is irrigated. This places more responsibilities on the imperatives of effective water management to feed humans and animals, as well as maintain its nutritional demands. UNICEF also reported that about 70 million Nigerians lacked  access to safe drinking water, and over 110 million lacked access to improved sanitation in 2013. According to the world body, about 124,000 children under the age of five die because of diarrhoea, mainly due to unsafe water, sanitation and hygiene. Lack of adequate water and sanitation are also major causes of other diseases, including respiratory infection and under-nutrition.

    “Conversely, neglecting water issues runs the risk of imposing serious negative impacts on economies, livelihoods and populations with potentially catastrophic and extremely costly results. Unsustainable management of water and other natural resources can cause severe damages to economies and to society, thus reversing many poverty reduction, job creation and hard-won development gains,” the report stated.

     

    Govt effort

    Adamu  hinted of government’s thinking to include water recycling as a target policy to manage wastewater for agriculture, sanitation and other uses for disease control, food security and job creation in realisation of  the “Change” mission and diversification effort of the President Buhari’s administration.

    To achieve this and change the face of the sector, the Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, noted that it requires multi-level partnership and synergies for the effective implementation of the agenda, as no single individual or government agency can meet the required development needed all alone.

     

    The journey so far

    Although the country has made substantial progress in developing policies and strategies for water supply and sanitation service delivery, translating these into deliverable actions are challenges confronting the nation. Notwithstanding though, stakeholders are quick to point out that in the last one year, government’s effort has been commendable. For instance, within this period, the administration has provided water and sanitation facilities to Nigerians to end open defecation. The Executive Director of Water supply and sanitation collaboration Council (WSSCC), Mr. Chris Williams, supported the initiative with $5 million through its Global Sanitation Fund for the implementation of sanitation and hygiene promotion activities across six local government areas (LGA’s) in Benue and Cross River states. Non-availability of sanitation and hygiene affects the health of women. The need to provide it will reduce mortality rate.

    Also, the government was able to initiate a bilateral engagement to organise an international conference on Lake Chad to draw international attention to the drastic drying up of the Lake Chad basin in order to save the over 47 million people  living around the lake who depend solely on it for farming, fishing, livestock production as well as water supply for drinking/sanitation. The Lake Chad Basin Commission and Power China International Group Limited have signed a memorandum of understanding to actualise the transfer of water from the Congo basin to Lake Chad basin.

    Importantly, the implementation of the Rural sanitation and Hygiene Promotion in Nigeria (RUSHPIN) is a  project across six LGA’s in Benue State and Cross River State. It is a five-year sanitation and hygiene project  which seeks to stop open defecation through the construction of toilets and shallow wells with hand pump. The project has yielded success in three LGA’s across Cross River State.

    Other commendable efforts include the commencement of work on the Adada Dam River site project which has about 1.4 million cubic meters of water capacity. The dam is expected to serve Nsukka community and environs by providing adequate potable drinking water and for other domestic users. Commencement of nationwide construction of boreholes to address the need of internally displaced persons’ (IDP’s) access to water. The ministry has also partnered the Katsina State Government to complete Zobe Regional water supply project. Zobe regional water supply was conceived in 1992 to meet the water supply shortfall in Katsina State. Also, the N5.9 billion water supply projects which will supply water to Otuoke, and 12 other communities in Bayelsa State has been inaugurated, just as there has been a  technical audit of 117 abandoned water projects; 25 per cent of the viable ones will be completed this year.

    The launching of the recently gazetted water use  licence 2016 is another landmark. The document will address a lot of issues like protection, conservation, control, equitable development and maintenance of environmental integrity of the nation’s freshwater and non-freshwater, including its strategies for achieving set goals in the sector.

     

    The Road Map

    The government has also put in place a roadmap to stimulate activities in the water sector. The roadmap will: establish a policy and regulatory framework for the water sector; prioritise and implement the Ministry’s Projects; see to the development and implementation of a National Irrigation Development Programme between 2016-2030,  to boost food production; development and implementation of a National Water Supply and Sanitation Programme to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG); development of a blueprint to strengthen the River Basin Development Authorities as enablers for food  security and socio-economic development; identifying alternative sources for funding the delivery of Water Supply and Sanitation through enhanced collaboration with Development Partners, States and Local Government Authorities, Communities and the Private Sector.

    To actualise the Roadmap, Adamu said there is a strong collaboration with Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development, Power, Finance, Budget & National Planning, Environment, Health, as well as Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, Bureau for Public Enterprises, state governments and other stakeholders.

    “I am confident that implementation of the Roadmap will be accelerated as we move into the third quarter of the year and beyond,” a confident Adamu said.

  • Politicians warming up for Anambra governorship race

    Politicians warming up for Anambra governorship race

    The Anambra State governorship election is scheduled to take place in November. Owing to the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to fix a date for the contest, many politicians are still playing the waiting game. Correspondent NWANOSIKE ONU looks at how the various political parties are preparing for the poll.

    Less than 10 months from now, the people of Anambra State will go to the polls to elect their governor. Governor Willie Obiano’s first term will elapse early next year.

    The governor has already indicated interest to seek for second term. Interestingly, one of his aides, Dr. Elo Aforka, has also indicated that he would vie for the ticket of the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Thus, the governor and his aide will complete for the APGA ticket.

    Aforka’s posters have adorned the streets of Awka, including the newly- constructed flyover at Aroma roundabout; a major transit corridor in the capital. It is not yet clear why he chose to challenge his boss, but some political observers believe that he is being used by some aggrieved APGA chieftains to extort money from Obiano through settlement.

    Aforka is not the only one eying the governor’s seat, which will be vacant in March 17, 2018. Legions of aspirants from various political parties have equally indicated their interest to run. Former secretary to the government under Peter Obi’s administration, Mr. Oseloka Obaze, is one of such aspirants. Obaze is running on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

    Obaze is not alone in (PDP). Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Osita Chidoka, is also in the race. The former Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has been talking tough.

    Philanthropist and industrialist, Mr Godwin Ezeemo, has also indicate interest to run once again on the platform of the Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA). Ezeemo was the governorship candidate of the PPA in 2013.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has the largest number of aspirants. This makes the APC the beautiful bride in Anambra politics this time around. The APC was like a political orphan during the 2013 election, because it was called unprintable names. In spite of the popularity of its candidate in 2013, Dr. Chris Ngige, who is currently the Minister of Labour and Productivity, it was derided as a ‘foreign’ party.

    Those aspiring to run on the APC platform include its National Auditor, Chief George Muoghalu; the lawmaker representing Anambra East and West Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, Hon. Tony Nwoye; as well as business mogul, Dr. Obinna Uzor. Others eying Obiano’s seat in the APC are: Barth Nwibe; and former governorship contestant on APGA’s ticket, Dr. Chike Obidigbo.

    Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, is yet to make up his mind this time around. Other aspirants are: Obinna Onunkwo, Donatus Okonkwo and Ifeanyi Ubah.

    From all indications, whoever that gets the APC is likely to give Obiano a run for his money; considering the number of heavyweights that have joined the party in recent times. Though some of them have not officially declared for the APC, but their body language suggests that they already have sympathy for the party.

    Only the oil magnate, Chief Ifeanyi Ubah, has officially declared. Others like Senator Andy Uba still have one leg in the party with the other leg still in the PDP. Another aspirant is Donatus Okonkwo, who happens to be Senator Annie Okonkwo’s brother. He is the brain behind Tetrazzini fast foods across the country.

    A good number of the aspirants are however using the governorship race to position themselves for other juicy positions in the APC. Some of them are looking for the party’s ticket for the Senate or the House of Representatives.

    Other political heavyweights like former Governor Peter Obi are still holding clandestine meetings for the proposed mega party with some eggheads in the country.

    Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been keeping mum. As a result, most politicians are still playing the waiting game. Apart from Aforka, who is a political adviser to Obiano, and Ezeemo, no other aspirant has his posters on the streets.

    Like the 2013 election, which was a two-horse race between the ruling party and the APC, this year’s contest is expected to be very fierce. Governor Obiano is believed to have sacrificed the goodwill he enjoyed initially, even though he is adjudged to have done well under the current difficult economic circumstances in the country.

    Obiano’s difficulty may not be unconnected with the fact that he has stepped on toes of many party chieftains who helped him to win in 2013. Many of such chieftains have vowed to make things difficult for him this time around.

    Despite the state’s dwindling resources, Obiano has recorded some reasonable achievements, including building three flyovers in a swoop, putting up street lights in major roads in the capital and elsewhere and making agriculture a top priority for his administration.

    In spite of his good showing, members of his party are not happy; they accused his wife of unduly interfering in his government. The opposition parties have even refused to acknowledge that he has recorded any achievement.

    His open disagreement with former Governor Obi, who almost singlehandedly made him governor, in the face of a stiff opposition from other party chieftains, appears to be a big obstacle in his second term bid. Many APGA members have continued to accuse Obi of being behind the governor’s travails.

    The word making the rounds in the state is that Obiano is making frantic efforts to defect to the APC and fly the party’s ticket during the election. Though the allegation has been refuted by one of the governor’s aides, the rumour has refused to go away.

    This development has not gone down well with many governorship aspirants on the APC platform, who see Obiano as an opportunist.

    Observers believe that it is too early to direction the pendulum would swing. The only thing certain for now is that the Anambra governorship election will be held in November this year.

    Though Ngige has declined to join the race, he appears to be the one man who is in a position to influence the outcome of the APC primary. As a result, whoever curries his favour stands the chance of grabbing the ticket.

    Ngige is regarded as a political oracle in Anambra. The minister must be pleased with the growing popularity of the APC in the state. He is one man who laboured to build the party in Anambra.

  • Anambra 2017: Six in race for APC’s ticket

    Anambra 2017: Six in race for APC’s ticket

    The first term of Anambra State Governor Willy Obiano will expire in Nobember, next year. The goernor is recontesting on the platform of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA).  The All Preogressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are warming up for the contest. Correspondent NWANOSIKE ONU examines the preparation for the election.

    Ahead of next year’s governorship election in Anambra State, the All Preogressive Grand Allicance (APGA), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have returned to the drawing board.

    According to APGA sources, Governor Willy Obiano, whose first term will expire in November, next year, is re-contesting. In the PDP, eyes are on Senator Andy Uba, aveteran governorship contender. In the APC, no fewer than six aspirants are struggling for the ticket.

    The aspirants are the House of Representatives member from Anambra East and West Constituency, Hon. Tony Nwoye, former governorship candidate of APGA Dr. Chike Obidigbo and the APC  National Auditor, Chief George Muoghalu.

    Others are former National Democratic Party (NDP) governorship candidate Dr. Obinna Uzor and Sir Barth Nwibe, who is perceived as one of the APC leading lights in the Southeast.

    The APC leader, Senator Chris Ngige, the Minister of Employment and Labour, is not contesting. He told reporters in Awka, the state capital, that he preferred to   face his ministerial job and lend support to President Muhammadu Buhari in the arduous task of repositioning the country. Ngige sees the governorship election as a distraction. But, he has the pedigree and charisma to lead the APC candidate to victory.

    The former Central Bank Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, is  still playing a hide and seek game, unlike Senator Uba, who is working assiduously to get the PDP ticket.

    The ambition of these gladiators has sent jitters down the spines of the ruling party. The APGA is facing many challenges. It is swimming in serious crisis at the state and national levels. Its leaders are at war and there is no end in sight.

    The APC chieftains are studying the situation in the APGA. They are aggressive. None of the contestants is resting on his oars in a bid to get the ticket for the November 2017 election.

    Although Ngige is still the towering figure in the APC, the contenders are not push overs. Unlike before, when Ngige could swing the votes, there is an emerging class of APC stalwarts who can add value to the chapter. Since last year, the chapter had enlarged its coast, following the gale of defections from the PDP.

    However, many factors will shape the poll. Apart from the strength of the parties, religion is a factor in Anambra politics. The Anglican, Catholic and Pentecostal dichotomy will play an important role in the emergence of the candidate and the election.

    The APGA and PDP had always relied on the Catholic majority to triumph in major elections from the days of former Governor Peter Obi. This has aroused the consciousness of other denominations.

    What calibre of men are the six aspirants gunning for the APC ticket?

     

    Nwoye

    He was a former President of the National Association of Nigeria students (NANS). He has also served as the  Chairman of the PDP in Anambra.

    Nwoye contested for the position  in 2014 in the PDP after a protracted court case. He was elected into the National Assembly. But, he later defected to the APC. Initially, he was denied the ticket by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). The ticket was restored to him by the court. He left the PDP, following the protracted crisis in the party.

    Nwoye, a catholic, is seen as a great mobiliser and a grassroots politician by the people, not only in Anambra East Council, but throughout the state.

    Besides, he is loved by the youths. His kind gestures has endeared him to top politicians, women and other stakeholders. The lawmaker has a large heart. It is alleged that he is being backed for the governorship by some political juggernauts, including the oil magnate, Prince Arthur Eze.

    If he gets the APC ticket, Obiano will have a big challenger, because they are from the same Anambra East council area.

     

    Muoghalu

     Muoghalu is popularly called Ohamadike; meaning a well-known warrior.

    He is the APC National Auditor.   He was also a governorship candidate of the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). He has goodwill among the people. He is versed in public relations. These were his assets in 2003 when he vied for the governor. Muoghalu produced the best jingle that the state spell bound.

    According to observers, the APC seems to recognise the long term services of its members, when it comes to allotting positions. Thus,  the track record of service stands Muoghalu out of the long list of aspirants for the ticket. He is popular and he has a formidable structure.

    He may not have the financial muscle to battle the other heavy weights, but loyalty, dedication to service and his humility are likely to be his selling points in the race. Besides, he is a Catholic.

     

    Uzor

    He s the Chief Executive of GOCUZ Group of Companies. He has degrees in law, public relations and business administration.

    Uzor contested for the governorship in 2003 on the platform of the National Democratic Party (NDP). He came fourth in the poll.

    Since then, he has very visible on the political stage. Many believed that he added value to the PDP during elections.

    Last year, the lawyer defected to the APC from the PDP. His defection was applauded by his admirers, who believed that he had suffered in politics like Senator Annie Okonkwo.

    Uzor is an ardent Catholic like Ngige and he may curry the minister’s favour for the plum position during the primary. It is believed that his goodwill and benevolence would assist him during the contest. But, the party may deny him  the opportunity because of its tradition of recognising long term service. Uzor is a new comer to the party.

    Other aspirants, including Nwoye and Obidigbo, are likely to suffer the same fate. But, party leaders are still assuring that they will give a level-playing ground to the contenders.

    Nwibe

    Many politicians hold Nwibe in high esteem. He is a close asociate of Ngige. He is also a veteran of many political battles.

    But, despite his closeness to the senator, he is perceived as a politician who has not contested any election, although he has assisted some politicians during campaigns.  He has been relevant to the extent that he has teamed up with others during elections.

    Nwibe has  financial muscle and he is respected for his philanthropy in his Igboukwu, Aguata Local Government Area. He is a humble party man, but he lacks the temperament and charisma of a governor. He is a Catholic.

     

     Obidigbo

    He is the only Anglican member, who defected to the APC from the APGA with his foot soldiers after it was announced that he had reconciled with Obiano.

    The people still see him as a political neophyte like Nwibe, despite contesting the APGA ticket, which he finally lost in court.

    Obidigbo is the Chairman of Hardis and Bromedis Company. He is largely perceived as a businessman rather than a politician.

    He is highly respected in the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria (MAN). If he joins hands with whoever that will emerge as the APC candidate, it will be a good leap for the party.

     

    Soludo

    He was the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and  2010 PDP governorship candidate.

    The election was won by Ngige of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). But, Ngige was allegedly denied the opportunity to bounce back because some entrenched interests  did not want the opposition party to steer the affairs of ther state. The victory was given to the APGA.

    Soludo is as solid as a rock; academically sound, full of native intelligence and he is financially buoyant.

    Soludo is regarded as the best governor Anambra never had. Although he has not declared for the APC, it was an open secret that he had sympathy for the party, even before the presidential election.

    However, critics have pointed out that Soludo does not have any structure on ground to win the election. He is a first class theorist.

    For now, he has been playing a hide and seek game over the 2017 election. But, one of his allies told  The Nation that he is interested in the race. But, he is yet to decide on the platform. With the speculation of a mega party in the horizon, who knows where his interest will go?

    So far, the aspirants are men of solid reputation. They are household names in Anambra.

    There are puzzles: Will the APC impose a candidate? Will aspirants be given a level-playing ground? Will the party conduct a credible primary? Will it learn from the mistakes of the past?

  • 28 in race for Alagbaka House

    28 in race for Alagbaka House

    No fewer than 28 governorship candidates are eyeing the Alagbaka House, the seat of Ondo State Government. The poll holds in November 26. Correspondent DAMISI OJO examines the contest for power in the Sunshine state.

    In less than 40 days, the governorship election will be conducted in Ondo State. The winner will succeed Governor Olusegun Mimiko on February 24, next year.

    No fewer than 28 candidates are participating in the exercise.

    According to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), a total of 1,546,081 voters have been registered to partake in the November 26 poll.

    The breakdown is as follows: Central Senatorial District-Akure South-248,953; Akure North, 53,000; Ifedore, 64,242; Ondo West, 150,0000; Ondo East, 37,000 and Idanre local government, 60,720 -Total Registered Voters (Central District) – 615,157 (39.78 percent).

    North District: Akoko Northwest-68,061; Akoko Northeast, 62,451; Akoko Southeast, 29,773; Akoko Southwest, 86,155;  Owo, 110,100; Ose, 62,386,Total Registered Voters (North District)-418,926 (27.10 percent).

    South District: Ese-Odo, 57,255; Ilaje, 114,235; Ile-Oluji, 64,219; rele, 55,231; Okitipupa, 101,044; Odigbo, 120,014 -Total Registered Vote (South District) -511,998 (33.12 percent).

    The candidates eyeing the Alagbaka Government House include Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) the All Progressives Congress (APC); Olusola Oke of the Alliance for Democracy(AD); Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); Olu Agunloye, Social Democratic Party (SDP); African Peoples Alliance (APA) Mrs Oluyi Folasade Helen; Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) Gbenga Arigbede; Labour Party (LP) Stephen Adeuti; Citizen Popular Party (CPP) Oyeleye Fasua; Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN) Mrs Olagbegi Orunmoluyi and Democractic People Party (DPP) Mrs Falana Julianah.

    Others are Democratic Peoples Congress (DPC) Adeeyo Matthew; New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) Oluwadare Bada; Hope Democratic Party (HDP) Odedeyi John; National Unity Party(NUP) Ayibiowu Ige; Better Nigeria Progressive Party (BNPP)Mrs Funmilayo Jenyo; Young Democratic Party (YDP) Adeniran Adeniyi; Accord Party (AP) Oladare Amuda; All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA).

    Also on the list are Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) Akindele Egbuwalo; African Democratic Congress (ADC) Mrs Ojo Ogunyoku Magretta Modupe; Action Alliance (AA) Yinka Orokoto; Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) Bolarinwa Aidi; Independent Democrats (ID), Akogunrin Oluwatoyin; KOWA Party (KP) Oludare Ogungbemi; Peoples for Democratic Change (PDC) Olusegun Odidi; Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) Francis Ogunjumelo; United Democratic Party (UDP) Falaiye Olugbenga and National Conscience Party (NCP) Oluwasuyi Dare.

     

    Akeredolu (APC)

    Akeredolu is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who became the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in 2008.

    He was born on 21 July 1956 in Owo to Reverend Ola Akeredolu family and Lady Evangelist Grace Akeredolu of Aderoyiju family of Igbotu, Ese Odo, Ondo State.  Akeredolu started his primary education at Government School, Owo. He proceeded to Aquinas College, Akure, Loyola College, Ibadan and Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, for his secondary school education and Higher School Certificate, respectively.  He attended the Loyola College in Ibadan and the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University ) to study Law, graduating in 1977. He was called to the Nigerian Bar 1978.

    Akeredolu was the Attorney-General of Ondo State from 1997-1999. In 1998, he became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria

    In November 2011, he was among the governorship aspirants of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was eventually picked as the candidate for the 2012 elections.

    On September 3, he was declared the candidate of the APC after the primary conducted by the election committee appointed by the national leadership of the party.

    Akeredolu emerged winner with 699 votes, amid controvesy. There were allegations of padded delegates list.Three of his colleagues, Segun Abraham, Olusola Oke and Ajayi Boroffice petitioned the Appeal Committee on the irregularities.

    However, the committee recommended a fresh shadow poll to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC, which was reportedly overturned by the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.

    Akeredolu’s name was eventually submitted to the INEC, and that had caused a split in the party to th extend that APC National leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Oyegun and other stakeholders called for the resignation.

    Already, one of the leading APC aspirants, Chief Olusola Oke, has joined the Alliance for Democracy (AD) as its candidate, while the first runner-up, Dr Segun Abraham, has gone to court to seek redress on the primary result.

    However, 50-member powerful campaign committee has been inaugurated for Akeredolu. It consists of governors and ministers, with the aim of facilitating victory for the APC.

    Observers believed that the post-primary acrimony may have adverse effect on the performance of the APC and its candidate, although, the campaign committee has constituted a reconciliation commitee. But, it sees time is running out.

     

    Jegede (PDP)

    Jegede (SAN) was born to the family of the late Chief Johnson Bosede, the Odopetu of Isinkan, Akure, and Mrs C.O Jegede (née Asokeji) from Ipele, near Owo, Ondo State.

    Jegede attended Aquinas College, Akure for his Secondary Education. He had his Higher School Certificate Education at Christ School, Ado Ekiti and the University of Lagos, where he Law between 1980 and 1983. He was posted to Yola, Adamawa State for his National Youth Service Corps. There he started his career as a legal practitioner.

    In 1984, Jegede qualified as a lawyer after the One Year mandatory programme at the Nigeria Law School, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    In 1992, he was appointed a Notary Public by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and in less than 10 years, he was elevated to the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He was deeply and actively involved in political cases and election petition matters, an area of law where his practice is noted. He worked in the law firm of Murtala Aminu & Co. Yola.

    After twelve years practice in the law firm, six years of which he was the Head of Chambers, he established his own law firm, Tayo Jegede & Co in 1996

    He was heading his law firm before he took appointment as Chief Law Officer in Ondo State.

    In May 2009, Mimiko appointed Jegede as the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice. Jegede is a former Chancellor of Anglican Communion of Jalingo, Taraba State. he was the Chancellor of the Anglican Dioceses of Yola and a member of Implementation Committee of American University, Yola, Adamawa State, and a member, Chairman Board of Governors, ABTI Academy International School.

    Jegede emerged winner of the PDP factional primary by polling 760 votes to defeat his co-contestant, Saka Lawal.

    However, his candidacy can not be absolutely confirmed for now because of the suit court by the other faction which has a business mogul, Jimoh Ibrahim as its candidate.

    Although, the INEC had earlier enlisted the name of Jegede the PDP’s candidate, the Federal High Court, Abuja gave another directive that Ibrahim should be the candidate of the PDP. INEC, however, stayed action till October 27 to determine the authentic candidate between Jegede and Ibrahim.

    Ibrahim is from the Southern District, while Jegede hails from Central where his godfather hails from. Observers are of the belief that the PDP had jettisoned the zoning system, which may hinder its success at the poll.

    The Akure agenda may work only in Akure and some local governments in the district.

     

    Agunloye (SDP)

    Agunloye is a former Minister of Power and Steel and Minister of State for Defence (Navy).

    He also served as the Chief Executive, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC).

    In 2016, he joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and became its governorship candidate.

    Agunloye is a former member of the People’s Democratic Party and the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    He may garner votes mainly from Akoko Division because he is an indigene of the area. The fact that he is now the only Akoko son in the race may assist him because of the neglect of the area by the present government.

    Secondly, Agunloye is the only candidate that picked a woman as his running mate.With the decision, he may receive the support of womenfolk in the state.

     

    Oke (AD)

    Oke is another strong politician and lawyer. Oke was born on April 7, 1956 in Ilowo, a coastal town in Ilaje Local government Area. His father was from Ilaje and his mother hailed from Imoru, Ose Local Government Area. He attended UNA Primary School, Ode-Ilowo between 1961-1963. At age seven, he dropped out of school in 1963 and became a professional fisherman, who lived and earned his living from the creek of Ilaje and its environs.

    His quest for knowledge compelled him to abandon fishing to the amazement of his fishermen colleagues and returned to Methodist Primary School, Ilepete in 1973 to complete his primary education. He later proceeded to Methodist Secondary Modern School, Ilepete where he graduated in 1976. He attended Ilaje Grammar School, Atijere, Ilaje Local Government where he bagged his WASC in 1980. Oke taught briefly as an auxiliary Teacher at Happy City College Ayetero, Ilaje Local Government and Methodist High School, Okitipupa.

    In October 1981, he was admitted to Ondo State School of Arts and Science, Ikare where he was, when the prestigious University of Ife offered him admission in 1982 to study law.

    In 1986, he proceeded to the Nigerian Law School and was called to the bar in 1987.

    Oke joined Olufemi Lanlehin and Co., a law firm in Ikeja, Lagos in 1987. From there, he moved to Okitipupa to establish Olusola Oke and Associates on July 14, 1988. His resolve to commence his law practice early enough was encouraged by his easy grasp of routines and outstanding delivery.

    In 1996, he became the Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Okitipupa Branch. Between 1997 and 2000, he was the chairman NBA, Okitipupa Branch. Also, between 1997 and 2000, he was a member of the National Executive Committee of NBA. His professional practice provided the platform that earned him the opportunity to blossom in politics.

    He was the National Legal Adviser of the PDP between 2008 and 2012.

    He was elected into the House of Representatives from representing Ilaje/Ese-odo Constituency in 1992. In 2000, he was appointed into the pioneer board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). At NDDC, his team executed over 250 projects. In 2004, he was appointed as the Executive Chairman of the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC).

    In 2005, he served in the National Political Reform Conference and in 2007, he served as a member of the Presidential Technical Committee on Niger Delta.

    Oke  was a governorship candidate in the 2012 election.

    He was a top contender for the APC ticket. He decamped to the AD after the APC primary.

    As a grassroots politician, Oke picked another popular politician and former member of the House of Representatives, Ganny Dauda from Akoko Division, as his running.

    He was the only candidate that considered the christian/muslim dichotomy, which had led to the resolve of the muslims to vote for the AD during the election. Oke has been trasversing the lenght and breadth of the state to woo many voters to his camp.

    The legal luminary may spring suprises, considering the crisis within the two popular parties, the PDP and the APC. The rate at which people are joining the AD on daily basis is unprecedented. this may greatly help Oke’s aspiration to gain access to Alagbaka House.

     

    Arigbede (PRP)

    A newbreed politician, Arigbede, an indigene of Ero, in Ifedore local government area, is into hotel business. He attended the Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti and had his NYSC scheme at Jigawa State College of Education, Gumel where he served as an Assistant lecturer.

    His interest in politics is hinged on the love to serve his people. Arigbede is a starter in politics and may not go far. He is from the same senatorial district with Jegede of the PDP.

     

    Odidi (PDC)

    Odidi was born over four decades ago to Chief R.A Odidi family in Igbotako, Okitipupa local government. He graduated from University of Ado-Ekiti, now Ekiti State University (EkSU). He is a media consultant and former member, PDP National Convention Commitee. He was part of federal government delegation to Brazil in 2014.

     

    Bada (NNPP)

    Bada is an accomplished medical practitioner and an indigene of Akure, the state capital. He was one of the PDP leaders before he left the party following the endorsement of Jegede his kinsman, as the PDP’s candidate.

    Bada was born on April 9,1953. He attended Aquinas College, Akure and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) between 1972 and 1979. He was also a student of the famous Haggai Institute, Hawaii, USA.

    He served as the youth leader of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in Akure Constituency, a caucus member of the National Republican Convention (NRC) and Gubernatorial Campaign Manager of the AD between 1998 and 1999.

    Bada is a former gubernatorial aspirant of the PDP in 2003. He was also in aspirant of the ACN between 2005 and 2007. Bada served as the PDP National Delegate between 2008 and 2010. He was a member, PDP Presidential Campaign Council, between 2010 and 2011, a PDP governorship aspirant in 2012 and later, the Director-General, PDP Campaign Organisation in 2012.

    He also served as the Commissioner for Health and Social Services between 1994 and 1995, Chairman, Health Management Board (HMB) and Executive Chairman, Hospitals Management Board from 2007 to 2009 in Ondo State.

     

    Oladare (Accord Party)

    Oladare, a Pastor, was born 55 years ago in Ogbagi-Akoko, Northern District. He is a product of the University of Ado-Ekiti, Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) and National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).

    The politician is a Ph.D student of Public Administration.

    Amuda was a Personal Assistant (PA) to the former governor the late Dr Olusegun Agagu between 2003 and 2009. He was an administrative officer in the state before his resignation on July 1, to contest on the platform of the Accord Party.

    He has always been serving as a mobiliser and motivator during elections.

    Amuda had helped in installing a number of local government chairmen in the North District and he was the brain behind the policies and laudable programmes of the Agagu administration.

  • The race for Ekweremadu’s seat

    Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State was his usual boisterous self recently, when he boasted in a magisterial audacity, to oust the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. And as the latest political Mr. fix-it, he declared that his man-Friday, Benjamin Uwajimogu would metamorphose from his senatorial debut to replace Ekweremadu. That would, in Okorocha’s self-serving calculation, be a reward for being the only APC Senator from the South-east. Great logic! Power is indeed the greatest aphrodisiac (apologies to Henry Kissinger). Late Gen. Sani Abacha’s despotic obsession notwithstanding, he had to even meander through a subterfuge of leprous fingers of the then five political parties, to white-wash his botched ambition to appear ‘people-driven’.

    The whole plot against Ekweremadu will end up as the historically damaging United States Vietnamese experience. His offence borders on membership of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party and occupying the number two position in the Senate, at a time when APC is the ruling party. After all, when PDP was in charge, it took everything. They must therefore go for his jugular. But what Ekweremadu’s accusers fail to understand is that APC’s victory came with a slim margin which could alter precedents and throw up hunting spheres for sophisticated politicking. Nigerians are aware that Rochas was merely re-echoing the stale conspiracy of political storm-troopers against Ekweremadu in the national political chessboard. It is what is known in African folklore as the twittering of a sparrow dancing in the middle of the road, to the drumbeats of a deity in a nearby evil forest. I pity Ndigbo! It is appalling that our present crop of leaders fail to appreciate the strategic gains of the principle of ‘Be your brother’s keeper’, which made Igbo race to be revered and dreaded before the Nigerian civil war. My generation is greatly maligned by the tomfoolery, cluelessness, unregulated individualism and a clear absence of strategic thinking of the people who mount the rostrum for us. This sycophantic macabre dance to out-do one another in trying to impress the men of power at Abuja is one of the inherent contradictions of Ndigbo’s corporate personality in the mainstream of national politics.

    Who will not remember the way northerners in the House of Representatives (irrespective of political parties) rallied around the former Speaker Ghali Umar Na’Abba and saved him from the plundering presidential power that wanted to unseat him at all costs? Is it not shameful that Ndigbo must always strive to pull down one another in any position given to them at the national level? The familiar fingerprints played out when the senate presidency was zoned to the South-east. The same ghost pervaded the office of national chairman of PDP when it was zoned to the South-east. The unceremonious exit of Okwesilieze Nwodo, after Prince Vincent Ogbulafor was ousted, coupled with the unwillingness of the then governors to field a replacement from the zone, made Ndigbo to lose that slot, and unfortunately, that vacuum created is at the root of the intractable leadership crisis bedevilling PDP today. Why must it be Governor Rochas Okorocha that had the unenviable assignment to announce the manhunt for his brother’s seat? For sure, it is a fact in dialectics that the most effective weapon in destroying an endangered group by the ruling class is to engage the service of a willing pawn among them. In any case, political mercantilism is like the adventures of the sorcerer’s apprentice. Would Rochas be taking on this wild goose chase gambling if Ekweremadu did not exploit his ranking status and legislative dexterity to get elected in the only position, which gives a resemblance of belongingness for Ndigbo in the Nigerian tripod arrangement?  It is only a gate-crasher with ‘notice me’ mentality that would jubilate over a town-crier role in a setting of jackboot scorched earth policy against fellow kinsmen. Our people should learn from the warm relationships that existed between David Mark as the Senate President and Gabriel Suswan as Governor of Benue State as well as the cordiality between former Speaker Aminu Tambuwal and then Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji  Wammako.  I hope Governor Rochas knows that Ndigbo need a voice to speak truth to power in the face of greatest form of marginalization in the post-civil war Nigeria. Ndigbo will like Owelle to explain the rationale for the absence of any Igbo man in the leadership of major security formations in Nigeria. What about the 2016 capital expenditure in the federal budget of Lagos State which is geometrically far above what is allocated to the entire five states in the South-east? We need to know what caused the ethnic cleansing in the military in which over 75% of persons affected by the recent sack were officers from the South-east and South-south.  Ndigbo would be interested to know the justification for the continued detention of Nnamdi Kanu of IPOB while Fulani herdsmen that brandished AK-47 assault rifles are walking the streets free? What about the broad day light killings of Igbo youngsters that were exercising their inalienable rights of peaceful protest by the Nigerian soldiers?  Can Rochas remind the powers-that-be that since the 250 members of civilian JTF in Borno State were good for absorption into the military, it would also be good to restore the guarding of onshore pipelines to the Niger Delta ex-militants in preparation for their absorption into the Nigerian Navy, instead of raining bullets in the beleaguered communities. My take is that Rochas is playing a script that he kept to his chest. Any possible presidential material from the South-east is a threat, and therefore should be warded off or be decimated politically. That is why Owelle is very critical of any kite flown in the media by any political party especially PDP, of a possible zoning of vice presidential or presidential slot to the South-east.  Who does not know that common sense demands that in a land where the ruling class (through utterances and dispositions) declared to reduce a certain people to second class citizens, the last man standing should be guarded with livid jealousy, like an only son in a family in need of perpetuity. What Ndigbo need now is a broad-based inter-party collaboration driven by enlightened self-interest in order moderate the smouldering tension and flak of mass anger at home, accentuated by feelings of alienation and deprivations in the national political economy. The former governor of old Imo State, Dee Sam Mbakwe, though elected under the opposition NPP, was legendary and earned the status of a weeping governor because of his dexterous civilized approach and engagement with the NPN-led Federal Government, which paid off in leapfrogging development efforts in the war-torn Igboland. Let Rochas sheathe his sword and allow Ekweremadu be. At least, Ekweremadu’s recent magnanimity and timely distribution of largesse of over N40 million to his constituents at a time when many Nigerians go to bed without food, will keep the heavenly angels of the beneficiaries awake to fight for him.

     

    • Dr. Uche can be reached on freshhope4me@yahoo.com
  • Race, politics and economics in America

    Race, politics and economics in America

    Here, quoted at considerable length, is the lead story in The New York Times (Late Edition) for November 25, 2008, titled RACIAL BARRIER FALLS IN DECISIVE VICTORY.

    “Barrack Hussein Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday, sweeping away the last racial barrier in American politics with ease as the country chose him as its first black chief executive.

    “The election of Mr Obama amounted to a national catharsis – a repudiation of a historically unpopular Republican president and his economic and foreign policies, and an embrace of Mr Obama’s call for a change in the direction and tone of the country.

    “But it was just as much a strikingly symbolic moment in the evolution of the nation’s fraught racial history that would have seemed unthinkable just two years ago.”

    In his victory speech the previous night, in Grant Park, Chicago, President-elect Obama was            no less expansive.

    “If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy,’’ he said, “tonight is your answer.”

    “It has been a long time coming,” he added, “but tonight, because of what we did on this date in this election at this defining moment, change has come to America.”

    Three months later, on the night of Obama’s Inauguration, some 20 House Republicans gathered      at a steakhouse across from the US Capitol to lick their wounds – they had also lost control of the House and the Senate – and, more to the point, to plot how to ensure that the Obama presidency would fail.

    They came out of the working dinner vowing to fight Obama on every issue, to be united and unyielding in their opposition; in short, to “take back the country” – their country – at the earliest opportunity.

    Far from sweeping away the last racial barrier in American politics” as The New York Times had declared, the election of Barak Obama entrenched it, consecrated it, and invested it with the kind respectability Jim Crow could not muster even at its most benign. Far from taking great pride in Obama’s oft-repeated assertion that only in America is his story possible, they are ruing how it  came about and saying, never again.

    The election upturned what white, middle-aged Americans without a college education had always regarded, and profited disproportionately from, as the natural order of things.  This is the group that globalisation and technological innovations left behind, the group that once thrived on high-paying jobs that have disappeared and will never return.

    Middle-aged white Americans without a college education live for the most part amidst sad reminders of halcyon days, in decaying towns piled with rutted heaps of abandoned mills and manufacturing plants.  The average family now has to work two jobs just to keep afloat. Access to credit, more than anything else, is what sustains the average American in the illusion of well-being

    Although the economy has made a significant recovery during Obama’s tenure – more than nine million jobs have been added since he took office — the really significant gains have gone to  speculators in the casino economy, many of whom go home with $10 million in bonuses alone at the end of each year.

    And now as reported recently by the Princeton economists Angus Deaton, recipient of the 2015 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science, and Anne Case, “something startling” is happening to middle-aged white Americans, the foot soldiers of the Republican Party, the constituency of the TEA Party and Donald Trump.

    Unlike every other age group, unlike every other racial and ethnic group, and unlike their counterparts in other rich countries, death rates in this group have been rising, driven by an epidemic of suicides and afflictions stemming from substance abuse.

    In contrast, the death rate for middle-aged blacks and Hispanics continued to decline during the same period, as did death rates for younger and older people of all races and ethnic groups.

    Middle-aged blacks still have a higher mortality rate than whites — 581 per 100,000, compared with 415 for whites — but the gap is closing, and the rate for middle-aged Hispanics is far lower than for middle-aged whites at 262 per 100,000.

    The least educated also had the most financial distress.  In the period examined by Dr. Deaton and Dr. Case, the inflation-adjusted income for households headed by a high school graduate fell by 19 per cent.

    In 2014, according to another analysis, among 25- to 54-year-olds without college degrees, blacks and Hispanics were much more positive than whites: 67 per cent of African-Americans and 68 per cent of Hispanics responded “much better” or “somewhat better,” compared with 47 per cent of whites.

    Those figures represent a reversal from 2000, when whites were more positive than blacks, 64 per cent to 60 per cent. (Hispanics were the most positive in nearly all years

    What used to be considered the peculiar pathology of black society in America has now caught up with the white underclass.  The resentment of that class is what Donald Trump has been exploiting.  It has served him well, at least to the extent that it has helped consolidate his base.

    Given the foregoing you can expect a hardening, not a softening of the racial rhetoric, especially on the right.  The world glimpsed something of this on live television and raw video last week showing the gruesome killings of two black men by police officers during more or less routine encounters — one in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the other in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.

    There was yet another in which a black man shot and killed five officers in an ambush and wounded nine more people at a peaceful demonstration by whites and blacks against the Lousiana and Minnesota killings.

    Hundreds of blacks have died at the hands of white police officers during routine traffic stops over the years, and in situations that posed no grave danger to the public or to the officers.  In almost every case, juries have absolved the police, saying they acted in reasonable fear for their lives, even when the police team had the lonely suspect on his back or belly, fully restrained.

    You do not have to act suspiciously or be in the “wrong” place to warrant the brutal attention of law and order.  The tennis star James Blake, a gentleman of the first class who would make an outstanding diplomat, was waiting in a hotel lounge in downtown Manhattan last year, for a cab to convey him to Flushing Meadows, venue of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.

    Suddenly, two cops jumped him, guns drawn, pinned him down on his back and handcuffed him.  They said he matched the description of someone who had been reported snatching cell phones, or whatever.  The whole thing could have ended fatally.

    Couldn’t they have called him to a corner and interviewed him? He is, by the way, bi-racial, with a black father and a white mother, like Obama.

    The movement Black Lives Matter was launched to call attention to the casualness with which the police take black lives.  Its goal was to remind the police and a generally complaisant public that black lives need to be protected with no less vigour than white lives and Asian lives and Hispanic lives.

    Now, in a reversal not unusual here (remember, “Affirmative action” is “racist”), they are   calling the movement and its anthem racist.  Leading the pack is former New York Mayor Rudi Guiliani, he of the hyena snarl, who had condoned the racist excesses of New York Police officers in the bestial degradation of Abou Louima, a Haitian immigrant, and other serious misconduct.

    Of course, all lives matter.  That much is implied in the name and agenda of the movement.   But the police continually act as if they believe that some lives are more expendable than others.

    That is the issue. That is why it is necessary to remind them and those who think and act like them that Black Lives Matter.

  • Abia Warriors still in title race, says Ayinde

    Abia Warriors still in title race, says Ayinde

    Kabiru Ayinde has maintained that Abia  Warriors are not yet out of the 2016 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) title race.

    Ainde has, however, refused to rule his side out of the race saying the title contention is still far from over pointing out that: “We are still firmly in it (title contention), we suffered a set back last weekend but we cannot give up, not just yet.

    “There are many matches to be played in the second round of the league and football can be very unpredictable. We will work hard to win many matches in the second round, then if luck is on our side we will win the title,” Ayinde told Goal.

    Abia Warriors are ninth on the NPFL table with 27 points, four points adrift of leaders, Rivers United.

    Warriors play Sunshine Stars in Akure in their next match on June 5.

  • The race for huge rice farms

    The race for huge rice farms

    In collaboration with the private sector, some states are investing in local rice production. According to experts, this strategic move will create jobs, reduce poverty and fast-track the Federal Government’s self-sufficiency plan for rice, if smuggling and policy inconsistency, among others, are addressed. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    A subtle battle for the control of the rice segment of the agriculture sector is raging among some states in the country. From the Southwestern states of Lagos and Ogun to Ebonyi, Anambra and Enugu in the Southeast; the Middle Belt and Northern states of Kebbi, Benue, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Niger and Taraba, among others, a state-led push to boost rice production, processing and distribution has taken centre stage.

    For instance, the push by each state, in collaboration with private sector investors, to position itself as the number one rice producer, has seen Lagos and Kebbi states set ambitious targets of meeting 70 per cent of Nigeria’s rice needs.

    This is on the strength of a recent strategic partnership that culminated in both states signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to leverage their areas of comparative advantage to develop the rice value chain.

    The MoU, ratified by Governors Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos and Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, hopes to end the era of imported rice. “…we have the economic prowess to produce rice locally. The era of imported rice is gone,” Ambode said in Lagos, at the signing ceremony.

    Nigeria, Africa’s largest  rice consumer, consumes about six million metric tons of rice annually, and spends an estimated N360 billion yearly on the importation of the product. This translates to an average of N1 billion per day. While half of the volume is imported mostly from India, Thailand, and Brazil, about 2.8 million metric tons is produced locally. The country, however, targets a total rice import replacement by 2018.

    The Lagos/Kebbi partnership, as well as interventions by other states, may have raised hopes of achieving this target. For instance, highlighting the Lagos’ areas of strength, Ambode said it is the largest consumer of food commodities in Nigeria, by virtue of its population, estimated at 21 million.

    He said Lagos State has an estimated consumption of over 798,000 metric tonnes of milled rice per year, which is an equivalent of 15.96 million of 50kg bags, with a value of N135 billion per annum. It also has the market, with the required purchasing power.

    To engage youths and boost rice production, 100 farmers have been settled on the 500 hectares of land acquired in Eggua, Ogun State through the FADAMA III additional financing programme. The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Toyin Suarau, who made this known at a press briefing last week to commemorate Ambode’s first year in office, said through this arrangement, rice cultivation had improved.

    “The yield has improved from less than one tonne per hectare to about three tonnes per hectare with double cropping in some areas where irrigation facilities are provided. The state government is also poised to expand its rice mill at Imota from 2.5 metric tonnes per hour to 10 metric tonnes per hour, while at the same time encouraging private sector operators to invest in rice processing,” Suarau said.

    On the other hand, Kebbi State boasts of a vast arable land suitable for the cultivation of rice. It is an agrarian state with over 1.2 million hectares of arable land characterised by very large floodplains, lowland swamps and gentle slopes. In the 2014/2015 wet season, over 600, 000 hectares of land were deployed for rice cultivation in the three senatorial areas of the state.

    Kebbi people are also traditionally rice farmers with average land holding of about 10 hectares. Presently, Kebbi has over 50,000 metric tonnes of paddy in store produced from the last two planting seasons.

    “What we are doing is to pioneer a collaboration that will bring other states on board later as we believe that our potentials are enormous and we must have pacesetters to start that process of joint collaboration for our collective good,” Governor Bagudu said.

     

    Anambra, Ebonyi also involved

    Ebonyi and Anambra states appear determined to give Lagos and Kebbi a run for their investments. The Southeast states, as part of their plan for life without oil, are investing in rice production.

    For instance, Anambra State has projected an increase in the volume of rice production from the present 80,000 metric tons to 400,000.

    To achieve this, the state has begun the distribution of 120,000 metric tons of high-yielding rice species to farmers for this year’s planting season through their various cooperative societies. This, according to Governor Willie Obiano, will  give the state over 300,000 metric tons of rice at harvest time.

    The target is coming on the heels of the inauguration of a multi-billion naira farm project in partnership with the Coscharis Group at Anaku town in Ayamelum Local Government Area of the state. The state government, The Nation learnt, has committed N300 million to the partnership.

    The project, known as the Coched Farms Project, is a joint venture between the state government and the Coscharis Group. It is expected to lead to the cultivation of 2,500 hectares of rice per season and a production capacity of 12,000 metric tons per annum in the first phase.

    Obiano said the project will generate about 1,000 full-time and seasonal jobs for youths and women across the entire rice value chain.

    The farm is expected to produce 8,000 to 12,000 metric tons of paddy per annum with an expected income of N400 million to N600 million per annum when fully developed. At an estimated market value of N140,000 per metric ton of processed rice, the expected income will be between N784 million to N1.176 billion per annum when the production and processing infrastructure are fully developed.

    “These estimates fall nicely into my campaign promise to ‘Ndi Anambra’ that we shall drive development through agriculture to create jobs, boost our domestic economy and shore up the revenue profile of the state,” Obiano said.

    According to Maduka, the project at full operation would provide 500 direct jobs and 2, 000 indirect jobs and would extend to other parts of the state. He said in addition to the rice farm, the project also had a rice mill of 20 tons per hour capacity that would provide services to local farmers.

    With what the state has done in the rice sector so far, Obiano is optimistic that in few months time, the state would not only have enough rice for domestic consumption, but  export the product. He hinged his optimism on the existence of a cluster of investors in the state for rice production.

    Similarly,  Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State recently ordered the disbursement of N1 billion to rice farmers as a revolving loan.  He said the money would not be given to the farmers in cash, but as seedlings, fertilisers, and pesticides among other facilities.

    The governor, who made this known at a special stakeholder’s forum on rice production in Abakaliki, the state capital, said the money was borrowed  from the Federal Government, and will be deducted from the state’s monthly allocation .

    To underscore the state’s determination to be a major player in the rice business, the state government went a notch higher, compelling each public office holder in the state to cultivate at least five hectares of rice this 2016 farming season. The public office holders include state executive council members, local government area caretaker chairmen, coordinators of development centres, and council liaison officers, among others.

    “We have so far acquired 54, 000 hectares for massive rice cultivation and more are expected to ensure the attainment of the rice production goal”, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Uchenna Orji, said.

     

    Edo, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger, others intensify push

    Anambra State is not the only state riding on the support of private sector investors to claim the number one spot in the rice business. Edo State has also opened its doors to the Stallion Group for investment in rice production. The group recently stormed Government House, Benin, the Edo State capital, to indicate its interest to invest in rice farming.

    The Business Development Manager, Stallion Group, Mr. Sunil Dhermappa, said the firm has the largest capacity of rice mills in sub-Saharan Africa, with factories at strategic locations in Lagos and Kano to enhance prospects of processing local paddy and with capacity of four million bags per annum.

    Interestingly, Edo State is also one of the five states across the country where foremost industrialist and President, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is investing $1 billion (about N165 billion) in rice production and processing. Others are Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, and Niger states. A total of 150, 000 hectares of farmland had been acquired in these five states for the project.

    Expected to become the largest single investment ever made in rice production in Africa, the project, according to the MoU DIL signed with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), also involves establishment of two state-of-the-art large-scale rice mills with a capacity to mill 120,000 metric tons of rice paddy each.

    This brings the total capacity to 240,000 metric tons, with plans to double the capacity within two years. The rice plant is estimated to produce 960, 000 metric tons of milled rice, representing 46 per cent of rice imported into Nigeria. “Our goal of making Nigeria a net exporter of rice will be achieved faster by this significant investment,” Dangote said. That was last year when the deal was consummated.

    As an integrated operation, the Dangote farms and the mills are expected to significantly boost smallholder rice production in the regions through a nucleus and out-grower farming model, thereby transforming livelihoods in rural Nigeria. Also, the selected sites are rice-growing communities and they will be supported by Dangote’s provision of agro-inputs, training, and marketing linkages in order to improve community farming operations. Employment opportunities will also be created for at least 8, 000 Nigerians.

     

    Smuggling, policy inconsistency, others are threats

    Heart-warming as the state’s involvement in rice production is, there are formidable hurdles, one of which is the nation’s numerous porous borders through which rice smuggling thrives.

    According to experts, cross-border smuggling, particularly via the Cotonou Port, remains one of the greatest huddles before local rice producers and this may frustrate the current move by state governments to take advantage of the sector to diversify their economies.

    Smuggled rice often finds its way into various communities and towns in Nigeria through the neighbouring countries. The penchant of most Nigerians to consume imported rice at the detriment of local ones also fuel smuggling.

    This is partly responsible for why local rice production accounts for less than 50 per cent of the country’s total consumption, leaving the huge demand gap for polished/milled rice imported mostly from India, Thailand, and Brazil.

    The consensus is that until and unless government stems the rising tide of cross-border smuggling, manage the tariff regime to ensure product availability, fair/stable consumer prices, and protect local producers/processors that are rendered cost uncompetitive by environmental factors and infrastructural handicaps, among other challenges, the latest intervention by state governments may not enhance the nation’s chances of achieving the rice self-sufficiency target by 2018.

     

  • The race for huge rice farms

    The race for huge rice farms

    In collaboration with the private sector, some states are investing in local rice production. According to experts, this strategic move will create jobs, reduce poverty and fast-track the Federal Government’s self-sufficiency plan for rice, if smuggling and policy inconsistency, among others, are addressed. Assistant Editor CHIKODI OKEREOCHA reports.

    A subtle battle for the control of the rice segment of the agriculture sector is raging among some states in the country. From the Southwestern states of Lagos and Ogun to Ebonyi, Anambra and Enugu in the Southeast; the Middle Belt and Northern states of Kebbi, Benue, Borno, Kaduna, Kano, Niger and Taraba, among others, a state-led push to boost rice production, processing and distribution has taken centre stage.

    For instance, the push by each state, in collaboration with private sector investors, to position itself as the number one rice producer, has seen Lagos and Kebbi states set ambitious targets of meeting 70 per cent of Nigeria’s rice needs.

    This is on the strength of a recent strategic partnership that culminated in both states signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to leverage their areas of comparative advantage to develop the rice value chain.

    The MoU, ratified by Governors Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos and Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, hopes to end the era of imported rice. “…we have the economic prowess to produce rice locally. The era of imported rice is gone,” Ambode said in Lagos, at the signing ceremony.

    Nigeria, Africa’s largest  rice consumer, consumes about six million metric tons of rice annually, and spends an estimated N360 billion yearly on the importation of the product. This translates to an average of N1 billion per day. While half of the volume is imported mostly from India, Thailand, and Brazil, about 2.8 million metric tons is produced locally. The country, however, targets a total rice import replacement by 2018.

    The Lagos/Kebbi partnership, as well as interventions by other states, may have raised hopes of achieving this target. For instance, highlighting the Lagos’ areas of strength, Ambode said it is the largest consumer of food commodities in Nigeria, by virtue of its population, estimated at 21 million.

    He said Lagos State has an estimated consumption of over 798,000 metric tonnes of milled rice per year, which is an equivalent of 15.96 million of 50kg bags, with a value of N135 billion per annum. It also has the market, with the required purchasing power.

    To engage youths and boost rice production, 100 farmers have been settled on the 500 hectares of land acquired in Eggua, Ogun State through the FADAMA III additional financing programme. The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Toyin Suarau, who made this known at a press briefing last week to commemorate Ambode’s first year in office, said through this arrangement, rice cultivation had improved.

    “The yield has improved from less than one tonne per hectare to about three tonnes per hectare with double cropping in some areas where irrigation facilities are provided. The state government is also poised to expand its rice mill at Imota from 2.5 metric tonnes per hour to 10 metric tonnes per hour, while at the same time encouraging private sector operators to invest in rice processing,” Suarau said.

    On the other hand, Kebbi State boasts of a vast arable land suitable for the cultivation of rice. It is an agrarian state with over 1.2 million hectares of arable land characterised by very large floodplains, lowland swamps and gentle slopes. In the 2014/2015 wet season, over 600, 000 hectares of land were deployed for rice cultivation in the three senatorial areas of the state.

    Kebbi people are also traditionally rice farmers with average land holding of about 10 hectares. Presently, Kebbi has over 50,000 metric tonnes of paddy in store produced from the last two planting seasons.

    “What we are doing is to pioneer a collaboration that will bring other states on board later as we believe that our potentials are enormous and we must have pacesetters to start that process of joint collaboration for our collective good,” Governor Bagudu said.

     

    Anambra, Ebonyi also involved

    Ebonyi and Anambra states appear determined to give Lagos and Kebbi a run for their investments. The Southeast states, as part of their plan for life without oil, are investing in rice production.

    For instance, Anambra State has projected an increase in the volume of rice production from the present 80,000 metric tons to 400,000.

    To achieve this, the state has begun the distribution of 120,000 metric tons of high-yielding rice species to farmers for this year’s planting season through their various cooperative societies. This, according to Governor Willie Obiano, will  give the state over 300,000 metric tons of rice at harvest time.

    The target is coming on the heels of the inauguration of a multi-billion naira farm project in partnership with the Coscharis Group at Anaku town in Ayamelum Local Government Area of the state. The state government, The Nation learnt, has committed N300 million to the partnership.

    The project, known as the Coched Farms Project, is a joint venture between the state government and the Coscharis Group. It is expected to lead to the cultivation of 2,500 hectares of rice per season and a production capacity of 12,000 metric tons per annum in the first phase.

    Obiano said the project will generate about 1,000 full-time and seasonal jobs for youths and women across the entire rice value chain.

    The farm is expected to produce 8,000 to 12,000 metric tons of paddy per annum with an expected income of N400 million to N600 million per annum when fully developed. At an estimated market value of N140,000 per metric ton of processed rice, the expected income will be between N784 million to N1.176 billion per annum when the production and processing infrastructure are fully developed.

    “These estimates fall nicely into my campaign promise to ‘Ndi Anambra’ that we shall drive development through agriculture to create jobs, boost our domestic economy and shore up the revenue profile of the state,” Obiano said.

    According to Maduka, the project at full operation would provide 500 direct jobs and 2, 000 indirect jobs and would extend to other parts of the state. He said in addition to the rice farm, the project also had a rice mill of 20 tons per hour capacity that would provide services to local farmers.

    With what the state has done in the rice sector so far, Obiano is optimistic that in few months time, the state would not only have enough rice for domestic consumption, but  export the product. He hinged his optimism on the existence of a cluster of investors in the state for rice production.

    Similarly,  Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State recently ordered the disbursement of N1 billion to rice farmers as a revolving loan.  He said the money would not be given to the farmers in cash, but as seedlings, fertilisers, and pesticides among other facilities.

    The governor, who made this known at a special stakeholder’s forum on rice production in Abakaliki, the state capital, said the money was borrowed  from the Federal Government, and will be deducted from the state’s monthly allocation .

    To underscore the state’s determination to be a major player in the rice business, the state government went a notch higher, compelling each public office holder in the state to cultivate at least five hectares of rice this 2016 farming season. The public office holders include state executive council members, local government area caretaker chairmen, coordinators of development centres, and council liaison officers, among others.

    “We have so far acquired 54, 000 hectares for massive rice cultivation and more are expected to ensure the attainment of the rice production goal”, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr. Uchenna Orji, said.

     

    Edo, Jigawa, Kwara, Niger, others intensify push

    Anambra State is not the only state riding on the support of private sector investors to claim the number one spot in the rice business. Edo State has also opened its doors to the Stallion Group for investment in rice production. The group recently stormed Government House, Benin, the Edo State capital, to indicate its interest to invest in rice farming.

    The Business Development Manager, Stallion Group, Mr. Sunil Dhermappa, said the firm has the largest capacity of rice mills in sub-Saharan Africa, with factories at strategic locations in Lagos and Kano to enhance prospects of processing local paddy and with capacity of four million bags per annum.

    Interestingly, Edo State is also one of the five states across the country where foremost industrialist and President, Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), Alhaji Aliko Dangote, is investing $1 billion (about N165 billion) in rice production and processing. Others are Jigawa, Kebbi, Kwara, and Niger states. A total of 150, 000 hectares of farmland had been acquired in these five states for the project.

    Expected to become the largest single investment ever made in rice production in Africa, the project, according to the MoU DIL signed with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), also involves establishment of two state-of-the-art large-scale rice mills with a capacity to mill 120,000 metric tons of rice paddy each.

    This brings the total capacity to 240,000 metric tons, with plans to double the capacity within two years. The rice plant is estimated to produce 960, 000 metric tons of milled rice, representing 46 per cent of rice imported into Nigeria. “Our goal of making Nigeria a net exporter of rice will be achieved faster by this significant investment,” Dangote said. That was last year when the deal was consummated.

    As an integrated operation, the Dangote farms and the mills are expected to significantly boost smallholder rice production in the regions through a nucleus and out-grower farming model, thereby transforming livelihoods in rural Nigeria. Also, the selected sites are rice-growing communities and they will be supported by Dangote’s provision of agro-inputs, training, and marketing linkages in order to improve community farming operations. Employment opportunities will also be created for at least 8, 000 Nigerians.

     

    Smuggling, policy inconsistency, others are threats

    Heart-warming as the state’s involvement in rice production is, there are formidable hurdles, one of which is the nation’s numerous porous borders through which rice smuggling thrives.

    According to experts, cross-border smuggling, particularly via the Cotonou Port, remains one of the greatest huddles before local rice producers and this may frustrate the current move by state governments to take advantage of the sector to diversify their economies.

    Smuggled rice often finds its way into various communities and towns in Nigeria through the neighbouring countries. The penchant of most Nigerians to consume imported rice at the detriment of local ones also fuel smuggling.

    This is partly responsible for why local rice production accounts for less than 50 per cent of the country’s total consumption, leaving the huge demand gap for polished/milled rice imported mostly from India, Thailand, and Brazil.

    The consensus is that until and unless government stems the rising tide of cross-border smuggling, manage the tariff regime to ensure product availability, fair/stable consumer prices, and protect local producers/processors that are rendered cost uncompetitive by environmental factors and infrastructural handicaps, among other challenges, the latest intervention by state governments may not enhance the nation’s chances of achieving the rice self-sufficiency target by 2018.

  • Akeredolu’s ex- running mate joins Ondo governorship race

    Former deputy governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 2012 election in Ondo State Paul Akintelure has declared his governorship interest.

    He said his intention is to serve the people.

    Akintelure said there is no crisis between him and Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), the defunct ACN governorship candidate.

    He added that the people of the southern senatorial district deserve to be given another opportunity to govern the state because of their peculiarity.

    The medical doctor turned politician said there was no iota of truth in the story that he and Akeredolu were no longer friends.

    Akintelure spoke in Akure when he led his supporters to visit the state APC Chairman, Isaac Kekemeke.

    He said: “I’m not fighting with Akeredolu. In fact, I went to inform him about my decision to contest for the governorship election.

    “There is no crisis between us. I just have to obey the clarion call from my people, who are yearning for better representation.

    “The people of the southern senatorial district where I am from deserve to be allowed to govern the state because of their peculiarity.

    “I am in the race to bring meaningful development to Ondo State.

    “Since the governorship ticket has not been zoned to any part of the state, I have every right to show interest in occupying the seat.”

    Kekemeke said the party leadership would provide a level playing field for all the aspirants.