The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has expressed deep sorrow over a fatal road accident that claimed two lives on Friday along the Sagbama–Ekeremor Road at Orua community in Bayelsa State.
The accident involved an 18-seater Toyota Hiace bus travelling from Yenagoa to Ofoni for the burial of a former Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo. Reports said the bus collided with a truck, resulting in the death of two passengers, while several others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
In a statement by Nneamaka Okafor, Special Assistant, Media and Communication to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Lokpobiri described the incident as heartbreaking, noting that it occurred at a time when the state was already in mourning.
“It is deeply saddening that lives were lost in such tragic circumstances, especially when families and loved ones were gathered to pay their last respects to a revered leader,” the minister said.
He commiserated with Governor Douye Diri, the Bayelsa State Government, and the people of the state over the incident, describing it as a painful loss to the entire state.
“This is a tragic loss not only to the affected families but to Bayelsa State as a whole. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone impacted by this unfortunate incident,” he said.
The minister extended his condolences to the families of the deceased, praying for divine comfort and strength, and also expressed concern for those injured in the crash.
“I pray for the speedy recovery of those who sustained injuries and that they receive the best possible medical care,” he added.
Senator Lokpobiri further urged motorists to exercise caution on the roads, particularly during periods of increased travel, while reaffirming his solidarity with the people of Bayelsa State in their moment of grief.
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has commended the leadership and staff of Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited for driving the oil and gas output increase less than a year after the deal that saw the exit of Shell from onshore Nigeria.
A statement signed by Renaissance’s spokesperson, Michael Adande, said the $2.4bn deal resulted in Renaissance emerging as the operator of the biggest joint venture in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
The minister’s commendation came during his visit to the exhibition booth of Renaissance at the ongoing 43rd annual international conference of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) in Lagos.
Receiving the minister and NAPE leadership, Chairman of the Board of Renaissance, Dr. Layi Fatona, reiterated the company’s commitment to continuing on the trajectory of growth, which has ramped up the company’s production post the share sale deal by over 40 percent and restored uninterrupted gas supply to the Nigeria LNG plant.
“Renaissance, as operator of the joint venture, holds a portfolio spanning onshore and shallow-water terrains, as well as the Bonny and Forcados crude export terminals and the Sea Eagle FPSO. We are aware of just how much our nation needs us to succeed, and we remain focused,” Dr. Fatona said.
According to Dr. Fatona, Nigeria retains enormous strategic advantages in today’s energy world because the country holds world-class reserves, a young and dynamic population, entrepreneurial agility, and resilience to innovate forward.
“This is why, at Renaissance, we spend time with young talents, to help the upskilling of Nigeria’s youthful energy talent and help them appreciate the opportunities available to achieve incredible targets and join in industrialising our nation with our energy resources,” Dr. Fatona said.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, on Tuesday announced that the Federal Government has engaged a consultant who is a member of the Oil Producing Trade Section (OPTS) to work in partnership with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to harmonize the 273 fees in the oil and gas industry.
The consultant has been mandated to study the fees of other oil producing countries and fashion the Nigerian fees after them in line with international best practices.
He spoke in a Ministerial Panel session of the ongoing 2025 Nigeria Oil and Gas Energy Week in Abuja.
Lokpobiri said that without the harmonisation of the fees, investors would avoid Nigeria for other climes.
He said, “And we agreed that there should be an international consultant to benchmark our fees away with other countries in the world so that we can be competitive.
“Otherwise, nobody would come and invest in a place where there would be 272 fees arranged and more were coming.”
The minister urged the stakeholders to downplay the campaign for energy transition because Nigeria only caused a negligible carbon emissions.
In a renewed push to meet its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production quota and 2025 budgetary targets, he declared an end to the era where oil companies acquire field licenses and leave them dormant.
The government warned that it would no longer tolerate operators lacking the technical and financial capacity to develop oil fields, stressing that such licenses would be withdrawn.
He said the government was determined to maximise oil production by ensuring that only serious investors retain access to Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources.
The conference had the theme: “Accelerating Energy Progress Through Investment, Global Partnerships and Innovation”.
The minister said, “In our ongoing drive to boost national oil production, the Federal Government remains resolute in ensuring that maximum value is derived from upstream assets currently held by operators.
“This objective has taken on greater urgency as global financing for oil and gas projects continues to tighten, making it increasingly difficult for all operators to secure the capital needed to develop these assets.
“It is no longer acceptable for critical national resources to remain in the hands of companies that lack the technical or financial capacity to optimise them, or worse, those who use such licenses merely as a lever to access scarce capital, only to divert it to unrelated ventures.
“Our oil and gas industry has witnessed far too many cautionary tales of this nature, and we must now draw a clear line”.
Also speaking, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said Nigeria had proven gas reserves of over 200 trillion cubic feet, yet value would only be created when resources were developed and utilised.
Ekpo said that through the Decade of Gas initiative, the country was focused on translating its vast gas wealth into tangible socio-economic benefits.
This, he said, included driving industrialisation, expanding power generation, increasing domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) usage, deepening gas-to-transport adoption, and growing gas export capacity.
Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari disclosed that the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline has successfully crossed the River Niger, boosting the hope of the project’s completion by Q4 2025.
Ojulari, who described the development as a significant milestone, said the feat was achieved through effective and innovative contract reengineering and industry collaboration.
He also disclosed that for the first time in a long while, the nation enjoyed 100% crude oil pipeline availability throughout June 2025.
He said the feat which was possible through the industry-wide security interventions led by the NNPC helped to boost crude oil production.
He, however, called for more investments to boost production, adding that NNPC Ltd has been able to turn the narrative around by consistently meeting its cash-call obligations to Joint Venture operations.
He said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has placed NNPC Ltd in a good position to live up to its responsibility of leading the industry in financing projects.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has threatened owners of idle oil wells who refused to develop them for three decades that they are to lose them.
He encouraged industry players to explore collaborative measures such as shared resources for contiguous assets, farm-outs, and the release of underutilized assets to operators ready to invest in production.
Lokpobiri said any proactive government will revoke the licenses for the undeveloped assets and reallocate them to those willing and ready to drill them.
He spoke at the Cross Industry Group (CIG) Meeting in Florence, Italy, organised by IOCs operating in Nigeria.
This was contained in a press statement his Special Adviser on Media, Nneamaka Okafor issued from Abuja on Tuesday.
The statement quoted that Minister as saying: “In line with the Federal Government’s drive to boost production, Sen. Lokpobiri reiterated that the Federal Government will begin implementing the “drill or drop” provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) where necessary.
“We cannot continue to have assets sitting idle for 20 to 30 years without development. If you are not utilizing an asset and it remains underdeveloped for decades, it neither adds value to your books nor to us as a country.
“We encourage industry players to explore collaborative measures such as shared resources for contiguous assets, farm-outs, and the release of underutilized assets to operators ready to invest in production.
“Otherwise, like any responsible government, we will take back these assets and allocate them to those willing to go to work.”
The Minister also urged operators to consider farm-out agreements where assets are close to existing infrastructure, rather than incurring high costs on new Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units.
The Federal Government called on International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in Nigeria to ramp up investments in the country’s oil and gas sector, emphasizing the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has provided every necessary incentive to ensure seamless and profitable operations.
The meeting focused on challenges, expectations, and strategies to enhance the sector’s contributions to domestic energy needs and regional expansion across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Lokpobiri noted that while IOCs have pointed to Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contractors as a challenge, EPCs will only commit when they see strong investment decisions from industry players.
A Magistrates’ Court in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, has ordered the remand of 35-year-old Susaine Morgan in custody over an alleged assassination attempt on the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.
Morgan faces multiple charges, including conspiracy, armed robbery, attempted kidnapping, and illegal possession of firearms, specifically two AK-47 rifles.
The alleged incident took place on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2025, at the minister’s residence in Ekeremor Town, Bayelsa State.
The remand order was issued following an application filed by Police Prosecutor ASP Stella A. Jerry-Friday under reference number YMC/51C/2025, based on a warrant authorized by the State Commissioner of Police, Francis Idu.
The Magistrate approved Morgan’s 30-day detention at the Okaka Correctional Service Centre to allow police to deepen their investigation and apprehend six other suspects linked to the case.
Authorities raised concerns that releasing Morgan on bail could interfere with the ongoing investigation, as other suspects remain at large.
According to the charges, “The defendant was arrested in the afternoon hours of 1st January 2025 in Senator Lokpobiri’s residence at Ekeremor Town in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State for offences of conspiracy, armed robbery, attempt to kidnap and unlawful possession of firearms (two AK47).”
It was also gathered that the request for remand of the suspect was done due to the limited power of the police to continue with the detention of the suspect without an order from the court.
A police source also confirmed on Monday that such a request is normal and if the suspect were granted bail, “There is the likelihood that he will interfere with police investigation due to the serious nature of the case and other fleeing suspects yet to be arrested will be influenced and may not be arrested by the police.”
According to a security report, seven of the suspects had gained entry into the country home of Senator Heineken Lokpobiri on New Year’s Day and hid among the crowd of visitors to visit Yuletide.
However, the report indicated that information filtered to the armed military men that some persons were armed and dangerous among the visitors.
The report further said: “Due to the large crowd, the soldiers, who could not open fire, ordered everyone to lie down. It was only the arrested suspect, who was with the bag conveying the weapons, that got arrested. “Other suspects mixed up with the panic crowd and escaped. They started shooting sporadically in the community attacked a filling station in anger and allegedly made away with the sum of N400,000.
“They also invaded the Ekeremor town waterfront and snatched a speedboat to escape.”
It was also gathered that the arrested suspect had made useful statements on the persons allegedly involved and the police are on their trail.
While reports claimed the suspects are allegedly indigenes of Ekeremor, others claimed that the attempt might be political and not unconnected with the alleged struggle for the control of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State.
A grassroots politician and leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ward 1,Yenagoa Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, Chief Izzi Yakiah, has backed the suspension of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, from the party.
In a statement on Saturday, Yakiah said the Friday’s suspension of Lokpobiri from the APC was a decisive step to stop politicians who have allegedly sabotaged the strength of the party during elections.
He also urged the national Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, to ignore calls by some political enemies to dissolve the party’s exco in Bayelsa State.
Speaking on the suspension, which also extended to the party’s 2019 governorship candidate, Chief David Lyon, erstwhile party Chairman, Amos Jothan, the party stalwart insisted the suspension was in order .
He said the suspension followed a report of the party Disciplinary Committee set up in accordance with Article 213 of the APC Constitution 2022 as amended.
Yakiah, who is also the Founder of a non-governmental organisation, Niger Delta Media Activists Group and Excellent Leadership Foundation (NDMAGELF), described Senator Lokpobiri’s claim concerning the party Leader’s position as an ignorant interpretation of the party’s provision that mandates a holder of the highest political office as the Leader of the party.
He insisted that Chief Timipre Sylva being a former Governor who was elected in 2007 and served till 2012 remained the substantive Leader of the APC in Bayelsa State.
The APC chieftain also accused the Minister of allegedly not working according to Presidency’s directive to reposition the nation’s oil sector for optimal productivity.
He claimed that Lokpobiri is paying more attention to his self attempts to induct himself as the party leader in Bayelsa to consolidate his yet-to-be announced governorship ambition.
Yakiah cited Lokpobiri’s nomination of Kharim Kumoko as Commissioner for Power in the Governor Douye Diri administration in Bayelsa State, absenteeism from all Bayelsa APC engagements from 2021 till date as an affirmation of his disloyalty to the party.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State has suspended the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and the party’s 2019 governorship candidate, Chief David Lyon, for alleged anti-party activities.
The party also suspended the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Power, Kharim Kumoko; Bayelsa State Commissioner for Lands and Survey, Barrister Peres Biewari; former APC state chairman, Mr Jothan Amos; an ex-officio member of the National Executive Council, Hon. Godbless Diriwari and Southern Ijaw APC Youth Leader, Sabi Morgan.
A party stakeholder, Mr Omiebi Fuoebi, APC Chairman, Ward 3 Southern Ijaw including all ward executive members as well as the APC Ward 4 Southern Ijaw, Mr Claudius Odobu and all the ward executive members, were all suspended by the party.
Briefing journalists separately on Friday in Yenagoa, the Chairman of APC in Ekeremor Local Government Area, Mitin Eniekenemi Senator, flanked by the local government executive members, handed Lokpobiri and Kumoko indefinite suspensions.
Mitin said the action followed a “report of the disciplinary committee set up in accordance with Article 21.3 (i) of our party’s constitution 2022 as amended.”
He accused Lokpobiri and his followers of involvement in anti-party activities since the 2019 governorship election in the state, alleging that the minister’s actions were borne out of his failure to secure the APC ticket.
Specifically, Mitin said Lokpobiri used “his supporters to institute cases in court against the party and also establish a factional state secretariat of the party.”
He further accused the minister that “in the 2023 governorship election in Bayelsa State, he led a group of disgruntled party members to openly support and work for Governor Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party and was compensated by the PDP-led government of Bayelsa State.
Earlier, the APC Chairman, Southern Ijaw Local Government Area, Mr Ebikazi Gbefa, and the local government executive council members announced the suspension of Chief David Lyon and seven others for alleged anti-party activities.
Gbefa cited Article 21.3(I) of the party’s constitution and accused them of conspiring against the APC candidate in the 2020 Bayelsa Central senatorial bye-election, Mr Abel Ebifemowei.
Gbefa claimed: “Some of them were compensated with contracts and appointments. For example, Barrister Perepuighe Biewari who was Chief David Lyon’s Personal Assistant, was nominated by Chief David Lyon and appointed as the current Commissioner for Lands and Survey in the Douye Diri administration in Bayelsa State.
“As we strive to rebuild the party ahead of 2027, it is our resolve to strengthen the party and build confidence in party grassroots members who believe in and have sacrificed remarkably for the party in the state.”
Meanwhile, chieftains of the APC in Bayelsa State have faulted the suspension of the Lokpobiri and Lyon by the local government chapters chairmen of the party.
Addressing a press conference in Yenagoa on Friday, a chieftain of the APC from Yenagoa LGA, Hon Alex Blankson, said he had filed a case in the state High Court in January 2022, challenging the legitimacy of the congress that produced the current party officials at the state, LGA, and ward levels, which the court upheld his submission.
The only way Nigeria can attain self-sufficiency in food production is for farmers to embrace modern farming, Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri has said.
The minister regretted that the gap in domestic food production have existed in Nigeria for many years because, it depended on rural farmers and their rural farming methods for its food needs.
Lokpobiri however, expressed delight that the Federal Government had been redressing the situation through policies and infrastructural development of the rural communities.
According to the minister, “The only way we can feed ourselves is for us to develop our capacity, embrace modern farming technology and technics so that we will continue to enjoy high productivity, not the subsistent farming we are used to.”
Speaking when he received a delegation from the Africa-Asia Rural Development Organisation (AARDO) led by Secretary-General of the Organisation, Wassfi Hassan El Sreihin in his office in Abuja, Lokpobiri stressed the need for the development of the rural areas to stem urban migration.
He noted that if urban migration was halted, it would reduce poverty and crime, as well as limit the pressure on the amenities in the urban areas being experienced in the country.
Lokpobiri said: ”Nigeria is a country where we are basically being fed by the rural dwellers,” noting: “If rural development is not given priority, and already studies have shown that there is urban migration because of lack of development in the rural areas, the cities would soon be over crowded.”
Continuing he said: “Land to farm is in the rural areas and if those people in the rural areas are empowered through capacity building, through technology transfer to be able to stay there and continue to cultivate in agriculture, poverty would be reduced, there will be less crime, and there will be less pressure on the limited amenities that we find in the urban areas.’’
According to the minister, the only difference between the agricultural system in Africa and those of the advanced economies of the world is the use and deployment of technologically advanced equipment by the later.
While drawing comparism between the Nigeria climate and that of the Latin American countries, which he noted are basically the same, the minister regretted that, “Because sometimes we don’t want to be relevant in technics, the yield over there could be 20 tons while here it could be 2 tons. This is basically because of the way we plan and the way we manage our cropping system.”
In his remarks, Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Burka Hassan noted that Nigeria is at the verge of transiting from subsistent agriculture to sustainable agro economy.
According to him, Nigeria is striving to diversify from oil-based based economy to an agric-based one through emphasis on technology and modernisation of farming.
The AARDO SG pledged his organisation’s commitment to collaborating with the nation’s rural farmers to grow the sector because of Nigeria’s strategic position in Africa and the West African region.
He said: “We assure you that we will offer our assistance to the country. This is my first official visit to Nigeria since I took over as the Sec Gen in 2011. As you know Nigeria is a very important country in this region and the world. Since then we have been collaborating and enhancing the lives of the rural people of Nigeria, neighbouring countries and members of the organisation.
“Since 1999 when Nigeria became a member of the organisation, Nigeria has benefited from our technical work programme, including the human capacity building. AARDO offers many hundreds of training programmes and fellowships every year in different countries in Asia and Africa which officials from Nigeria benefits from.”
According to Sreihin, “In 2007, we financed one project in Nigeria. In 2006, we signed an MoU with the Agriculture and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) , Ilorin for collaboration and assistance for international training programmes were organised and I am here to revive the MoU for the benefit of our members.”
The Minister of State for Agriculture, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, yesterday, said the Governor of Bayelsa, his home state, Mr. Seriake Dickson, lied against him over sponsorship of militancy and other criminal activities in the state.
The minister denied sponsoring a warlord, Oyawerikumor Peregbabofa, aka, Karaowei, who was arrested and killed by security agencies for beheading a senior intelligence security officer and murdering over five soldiers.
Speaking recently in a Transparency Briefing, Dickson accused the minister of buying arms and ammunition for the slain Karaowei and sponsoring other criminal activities in the state.
He said the minister had done nothing positive with his position and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call him to order.
He said: “The Minister of State, Senator Lokpobiri is the one that armed and equipped the Kareowei that has now killed soldiers and killed military people and subjected innocent communities into this problems.
“All the guns, AK47, all the boats and others he uses to kill and all other ammunition were supplied by Senator Lokpobri. I have evidence that on the 2nd of January, this month, this Kareowei and his killers were in Ekeremor, celebrating with Lokpobiri, and that is the person appointed as Minster of state”.
But Lokpobiri in a detailed response said he never had any relationship with the late militant leader explaining that he was no longer at his hometown in Ekeremor on the day Dickson accused him of meeting with the warlord.
He said: “I was with my kith and Kin at Ekeremor from 31 December 2017 to 2 January 2018 to celebrate the New Year. A football match, wrestling contest and lots of fun fare, characterized the celebration. I was however bade goodbye by enthusiastic family members, friends and well wishers and left home in the morning of 2 January, 2018.
“The claim of Governor Seriake Dickson is not only false but wicked and most ungodly. The same militant even came to threaten me on the eve of the New Year and fired some rounds at the river before zooming off.
“Interestingly, I shared my thoughts on the incident with one of our most respected security officers on my way to Abuja for a meeting with the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa on3 January 2018.
“The accusation of the purchase of arms and equipment for the militant is also a figment of the imagination of Governor Dickson. I do not have anything to do with the militant and had never met him.
On my contribution to nation building as Honourable Minister of State, Agriculture and Rural Development, my constituency is the entire country and there is no denying the fact that my colleague and I have worked so hard to reposition the sector to the admiration of all Nigerians.
“Agriculture has been reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBC) as the highest contributor to the GDP in 2017. The claim by Governor Dickson that he has not seen anything I have done in my village is therefore petty and preposterous.
The theatrics of Governor Dickson is a dance of the absurd on the misfortunes of the people of Ndoro community in particular andBayelsa State at large.
“Common sense in good governance dictates that the proper thing to do is to attend to the needs of the displaced persons and do the needful to help them return to their community and rebuild their lives. This is what all people of good will and I expect him to do as governor of BayelsaState.
Let it be known that the shameful campaign of calumny against me is not an account of stewardship that should be the focus of a transparency briefing.
“Governor Dickson should used his briefs to explain to the good people of Bayelsa why there is starvation and misery when he has spent over a trillion Naira on non-existent projects leaving the Bayelsa people with no functional roads, hospitals, schools, water, a huge backlog of unpaid salaries and a tattered economy”.
Lokpobiri commended security agencies especially the Joint Task Force (JTF) for their gallantry in stopping the notorious criminal and enjoined them to take out all such criminals in their theater of operation.
On 15th of August 2016 when the Federal Government launched the Green Alternative Policy under the leadership of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh with his counterpart, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the vision was mainly to diversify the nation’s economy from oil.
The policy also known as the Agriculture Promotion Policy (2016 – 2020) was part of deliberate moves to make agriculture the mainstay of the economy, contributing majorly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and improving on gaps which existed in the Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA) of the past administration.
The federal government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, rolled out policies to check the alarming, continuous food imports and increase local production of staple foods including rice, wheat, and dairy products among others. The four-year development plan mapped out strategies to realise four major goals in partnership with the State governments. The thematic focus includes food security, import substitution, job creation and economic diversification.
In the area of food security, rice cultivation got a special attention. The method of rice production among farmers across the states took a different dimension. It mapped out strategies to ensure rice is being cultivated in most states across the country. The rationale is due to the fact that rice remained major staple food Nigerians consume daily but with an outstanding deficit of 6.3 million tonnes and local production of about 2.3 million tonnes as at 2015. The wheat deficit was about 4.7 million tonnes with a supply 0.06 million while Soya beans was 0.75 million and local capacity was 0.06 million. The gaps were huge.
In order to meet these demands, the ministry sought supports of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through the Anchor Borrowers Scheme (ABS) to provide finance for the rural farmers from 2015 dry season farming and wet season rice and wheat farming in 2016. Anchor Borrowers’ programme is an intervention aimed to fast-track access of rural farmers to finance for better productivity. This entails the provision of agricultural credit to finance the production of rice, wheat, ginger, maize and soybeans in Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Benue, Zamfara, Anambra and Kwara States.
It is important to note that state governments took advantage of the intervention to maximise production on the basic farm co mmodities. Lagos State for instance, went as far as signing a partnership agreement with the Kebbi State government to produce the popular LaKe Rice. Within a short time, rice imports declined, especially with the support of policies that discouraged its importation and smuggling while local production also soared higher from 2015 till date. These interventions were aimed to meet national requirements of paddy and milled rice set at 2018.
One of the rice farms in Watari, Kano State
The FMARD further established 40 large scale rice processing plants and 18 High Quality Cassava Flour plants with a stake commitment of China EXIM (85 per cent) and Nigeria Bank of Industry (BOI) (15 per cent) through concessional credit facilities of US$383,140,375.60 for the rice mills and US$143,722,202.40 for the HQCF Plants. The locations are Abia (Abriba), Kogi (Agbadu), Akwa-Ibom (Uyo), Kwara (Sare), Anambra (Ihiala), Lagos (Epe), Benue (Makurdi), Nassarawa (Gbude), Cross-River (Obubra), Ogun (Ijebu-Igbo), Delta (Mbiri), Ondo (Ore), Edo (Iraoko), Osun (Iwo), Ekiti (Itapaji), Oyo (Oke-Ogun), Enugu (Ebenebe), Oyo (Iseyin). Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is on-going for the ultimate private sector–driven initiative.
FMARD is now embarking on a programme of distribution of rice mills, of ten tonnes per day capacity, 20 tonnes a day, 40 tonnes a day, 50 tonnes and a few 100 tonnes. Collectively, between them, the capacity for rice milling will be close to 3,000 tonnes a day nationwide. That is expected to close the gap between paddy availability and mills to process it.
From available records, there is ongoing plan to also establish 10 large scale rice processing plants and 6 High-Quality Cassava Flour plants to be owned and operated by the private sector. According to the Ministry, the mills would be funded by the Special Rice Processing Intervention Fund and the World Bank Assisted Agricultural Development Policy Operation [AgDPO] Funds. Necessary approvals were obtained for an “original equipment manufacturer (OEM) contract” process via the “Flourtech Engineer PVT Ltd, – Rice Mills” and the “Haiyang Union Machine & Equipment Ltd, China &Korat SW Group 2007, Thailand – HQCF Plants.” The rice plants locations are Argungu (Kebbi), Yargeda (Zamfara), Permabiri (Bayelsa), Badeggi (Niger), KatsinaAla (Benue), Idah (Kogi), Kubau (Kaduna), GidanMaiwa (Bauchi), Imope (Ogun), and Ezira (Anambra), HQCF plants locations are Ore (Ondo), Ojoowo (Ogun), Abriba (Abia), Abraka(Delta), Obubra (C/River) and PakaLafia (Nasarawa).
One of other remarkable initiatives developed by the ministry was the national soil map. There had not been evidence to show that the use of the generic NPK fertiliser everywhere has necessarily improved farm production significantly to justify its continued application as one-size-fits-all soil fertility remedy. So, the map basically is to determine the right fertiliser that is applicable in a particular state with the promotion of the use of soil-specific fertiliser formulations. Unlike previous years where the same fertiliser is applied by farmers across the country, the map was designed to guide farmers on what fertiliser to adopt in order to get the maximum yield.
Prior to the launched green alternative, Nigeria was importing foods to the tune of $22 billion annually, including fruits. As a result, the country cannot be classified as food-secured. The limited harvests produced by the local farmers mostly got rotten due to lack of storage facilities.
The net impact of these was limited job growth across the agricultural value-chain from inputs production to market system. Ironically, as these problems persist, the country was exporting jobs abroad.
Fertiliser supply
A resurrected interest in agriculture has brought in its wake growing interest in smallholders. Nigeria’s fertiliser market is growing. Baring the restriction placed on the transportation of urea for security reasons, Nigeria is launching into a new realm of responding to local fertiliser needs by promoting the blending of fertiliser locally to suit specific soil on the basis of findings in the national soil map. Field reports on the use of micronutrient inclusion in fertiliser in some parts of Nigeria have justified the need for a widespread and nationwide use.
Replacing the unbalanced NPK 15-15-15 with other formulations as a basal application in the Urea Deep Placement Technology has been reported to have led to increased yields by between 30 per cent and 80 per cent in a number of cases in rice, maize and sorghum. These results have inspired the Federal Government’s policy directive to use fertiliser blends recommended from soil maps, beginning from this cropping season. Nigeria has 108 balanced fertiliser recommendations for all crops and for all 36 States and the FCT, and the Government has signed an agreement with the Government of Morocco for the supply of fertiliser raw materials on concessionary terms to boost local blending to facilitate making soil and crop-specific fertiliser blends available and accessible to smallholder farmers.
In 2016, price of fertiliser especially NPK, rose to as high as N11, 000 contributing largely to hike in price of staple foods in the market. Urea which is an additional input after the application of the NPK sold at about N7, 500. Local farmers clearly were not finding it easy until the federal government came up with an initiative that encouraged local blending.
As a result of the several bottlenecks, the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative came into existence having Fertiliser Producer and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) and the FMARD as the implementing partner. The target was to produce One Million Metric Tonnes of fertiliser for local farmers across the country for the 2017 wet season and 500, 000 metric tonnes for dry season farming. It was the outcome of President Muhammadu Buhari’s meeting with the King of Morocco. The deliberation among others was to facilitate the export of Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), through OCP Group, Morocco to ensure a steady supply of the raw material for local production of fertiliser.
The other raw materials include the Muriate of Potash (MOP), sourced from Europe and Russia while Limestone Granules (LSG) was locally sourced from the West African Fertilizer Company limited, Okpella, Edo State. This deliberate effort was to meet fertiliser deficit in the country and ensure the nation locally blend the input.
Remarkably, the fertilisers are mixed in about 11 blending plants which were initially working at lower capacity across the country. Local fertiliser blending plants took ownership of the project, engaged labour and produced the farm input at a reasonable cost of N5, 000.
“From that 14th of December, 2016 to 14th February, 2017, we gave farmers free gift. They started to receive fertiliser at N5, 500. Agro-dealers also got theirs, when they come to a plant like this, they will pay N5, 000, and sell for N5, 500,” said FEPSAN President, Mr Thomas Etuh while responding to an inquiry.
Donor Support Interventions
Aside from the commitment to increase food production and create jobs across the value-chain, the federal government enjoyed interventions from the international development partners. The foreign organisations such as RUFIN, IFAD VCDP, World Bank Fadama project, RAMP among others have in no small measure contributed towards the realisation of the objectives of the green alternative initiative.
A number of states with high potential in the production of selected staple crops are being supported to increase farm yields, engage the youths, help rural families, provide finance and ultimately create markets to boost their returns. While some development partners focus on rice and cassava, others give more attention to sorghum, millet and wheat.
VCDP
Mr Peter Okonkwo is a member of the all-male Great Minds Multipurpose Cooperative Society. He cultivates 1 hectare from 3,850 hectares of land rice farm allocated to his group. Okonkwo harvested a yield of 7 tonnes from his one hectare rice farm in the last season, unlike his usual 2.3 to 2.5 tonnes per hectare yields. He is one of 20 other members in one cooperative group setup by the VCDP Lower Anambra Irrigation Project (LAIP) in Anyamelum local government area of Anambra state. All thanks to the IFAD-funded Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) programme which made the fete a reality, working to support rural farmers in form of inputs and training on good agronomic practices.
Peter Okonkwo showing off the tillers (48) of a sampled clump of his rice
The IFAD- funded VCDP works to improve the income and food security of poor rural households with particular attention to women and youths engaged in production, processing and marketing of rice and cassava. It focused on enhancing rice and cassava value-chains in Nigeria.
In 2016 alone, production figure showed that VCDP made a significant contribution of 55,513 MT of rice and 184,377.6 MT of cassava to the national food basket. This represents a contribution of $36 million (N11 billion) to the country’s GDP in 2016. The income-investment analysis indicates that for every $1 invested by VCDP in 2016, $1.2 was realised from sales of produce alone.
The programme, largely funded by IFAD had a total budget of $104.4 million. IFAD provided $74.4 million funding, the federal government supported with $9.9 million, state governments contributed $10.4 million, local government councils $4.3 million, complementary financing amounted to $2.8 million and beneficiaries $2.1 million.
Basically, the federal government is implementing the IFAD-VCDP project in six (6) States, namely: Niger, Ogun, Taraba, Benue, Ebonyi and Anambra. VCDP became effective in August 2014 and disbursement effective in March 2015. While the programme is expected to wind-up on June, 2020, its goal was to reduce poverty in 53, 480 households and enhance accelerated economic growth sustainably.
The programme is also targeted to sustainably create about 6, 000 jobs through production, processing and marketing of rice and cassava in the six states. So, between January to November 2016, about 4, 000 jobs have been created and N418.9million worth of farm inputs have been distributed to 20, 879 farmers working on 1,067.2 hectares.
Within the last two years, VCDP made good progress of effectively implementing the programme objective on the two crops. Through group and cluster development, it encouraged working with the private sector to facilitate service delivery to smallholder farmers; identified viable business opportunities within the commodity chains for youth; developed arable land to increase women and youth access to land; shared innovative agronomic practices with farmers to enhance their productivity; and engaged youths in agriculture.
A unique model which so far has helped the rural farmers was the ability of IFAD-VCDP to arrange major off-takers such as Olam, Onyx and Popular Farms, who provide co-funding in the form of cashless credit services to enable farmers, have access to agri-inputs and enhance their productivity. This has luckily helped cut down the incident of post-harvest losses. Farmers do not have to wait or search for the market to sell their produce as the off-takers are readily available to buy the harvests, having knowledge of the fact that there is increasing buy-in by the state governments.
The programme facilitated an innovative Commodity Alliance Forum (CAF), which empowers smallholder farmers to engage and transact businesses with major private sector players in each state. The platform involved key stakeholders in input delivery, bulk purchase of farm produce such as factory raw materials, financial institutions with credible credit delivery services and farmer groups.
In Benue state, for instance, Olam a major player in the nation’s rice sub-sector is working with 3,000 rice farmers under the alliance.
Farmers with support from off-takers receive agro inputs
As of date, 30, 100 verified farmers with names and locations are benefiting from various services of VCDP to increase their production and productivity and enhance their income. Out of this figure, 21,245 farmers (13,456 for rice and 7,789 for cassava) who produced a credible business plan were provided with 50 percent of the input requirements in line with design. About 2,328 FOs, 103 per cent of the Life of Project (LoP) target are using bulk purchase method to procure their inputs, and 2,135 FOs, representing 95 per cent of the LoP target are registered with the Department of Cooperatives.
So far, the programme has trained 925 group leaders, representing 14 per cent of the LoP target, to strengthen groups’ engagement with the private sector players and provide effective services for their members. It has developed a number of knowledge products, including women inclusion strategy, youth involvement in agribusiness strategy, and package of best agronomic practices. It has so far increased their sales, generate more income and improve their living standard.
Mr. Mbon Sumaka, a rice farmer in Benue, one of the states participating in VCDP is excited with the market linkage facilitated by the programme. “I am grateful to VCDP for linking me and other group members to Olam. We are happy as we know all our produce will be bought by Olam after harvesting. We are ready to go into farming on large scales with this arrangement and this will go a long way to boost the economy”.
So far, 667 MoUs have been signed with off-takers in the six programme states while 143 contractual agreements have been formalised and 30, 100 farmers linked to off-takers.
Farmers at Igbaran, Anambra State
FADAMA
FADAMA, as popularly known among stakeholders, is a World Bank project usually in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) targeted to support small holder farmers to increase productivity and access to finance. The success story of this project has been outstanding right from the FADAMA I, II, III and recently FADAMA III Additional Financing (AF).
Within a short period, the number states participating in the World Bank intervention project has increased considering its immense impacts at the grassroots.
Between 21st and 22nd March, 2017, the FADAMA office flagged-off dry season irrigation rice production in Plateau state as part of measures to ensure all year round production of rice. Even though the event witnessed the presence of the Senior Technical Adviser (STA) to the minister on International Donor, Engr. Auta Appeh, Plateau State Governor, Bar. Simon Lalong, Task Team Leader (TTL) World Bank country office Abuja chief Dr Adetunji Oredipe including FADAMA National Project Coordinator, Tayo Adewunmi the immediate beneficiaries of the project were not left out.
For the dry season rice farming, about 100, 000 hectares of land have been cleared by the state government. So far, a total of 11 production clusters (PCs) have been prepared consisting of 57 production groups, with a benefiting population of 570, comprising 381 males and 189 females. The state is rich in terms of vegetation for both dry and rain season farming.
The National Project Coordinator, Mr. Tayo Adewumi, in his message, gave a brief on the implementation of Fadama III-AF in Plateau state. About 27 Tomato production clusters made up 222 production groups have been funded through a well-developed business plan. Also, funded were 11 rain-fed rice PCs with 222 PGs.
Speaking on the Fadama Farmers Micro Finance Bank (FFMFB) Limited, a fresh initiative by the FADAMA III-AF Office, It was designed in December, 2015 to support 570 farmers comprising 381 males and 189 females.
Lalong, in his remark at the event disclosed that the state through the Fadama project has supported about 55% of rice farmers in the state, with an increased yield from 2.8 tonnes per hectare to 4.5 tonnes per hectare representing 60.14% increase. “About 1,395 permanent jobs for rain-fed and 13,950 indirect jobs were created for youths and women during harvest. During dry season implementation, 570 permanent jobs were created and 2, 850 indirect jobs.
“As at baseline, indicators showed that farmers’ income increased from N108, 501.76 to N390, 220.65 per annum representing 20% of farmers surpassing poverty threshold.” According to him, the arrangement has been made for a 16.9KM Fadama feeder road in Shendam, Langtang South, Kanke, Mangu, Bassa and Jos East Local Government Areas. This is expected to ease transportation challenges faced by rural farmers. Some of the civil service workers and pensioners were as well encouraged to improve their livelihood by engaging in agricultural related activities while they are still in service.”
RUFIN
Rural Finance Institution Building Programme (RUFIN) is a $27.2 million initiative of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Federal Government of Nigeria. It was a project coordinated by the federal ministry of agriculture and rural development in 12 States and 36 local governments to help realise the set objective of alleviating poverty with particular emphasis on women, youth and the physically challenged. Some of the benefitted states include Adamawa, Bauchi, Katsina, Zamfara ( North Zone), Benue, Nasarawa, Oyo, Lagos (Middlebelt/South West zone) and Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Imo, Edo in the Southern Zone.
Purpose of the initiative ultimately was to enhance access of rural population to viable and sustainable rural financial system in order to expand production, improve on-farm productivity and micro small rural enterprises. “Our group-Nneoma Union Group heard that FAME MFB was giving out loans to people. We went there and were informed by the bank that they have accessed the MSMEDF. We applied and got a loan from FAME MFB. I received N70, 000 which I invested in my business. My business is doing well and I can now support my husband all thanks to RUFIN,” said Mrs. Adaoma Timothy, Member Nneoma Union Group, Itu-Ezinihite LGA, Imo state. Incidentally, the programme will be completed on 31st March, 2017.
However, about $5,616, 000 has so far been disbursed by the implementing agencies and government institutions. They are the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Bank of Agriculture (BOA), Federal Department of Cooperatives (FDC) and the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP).
Omolara is one of the beneficiaries of the intervention in Lagos.
Access to soft loans and other finances by farmers had been a serious challenge to boost productivity. It is often difficult for the commercial institutions to lend to farmers at a considerate interest rate. Rural farmers are either given loans at a 2-digit interest rate which is almost impossible to repay or never given. So with the initiative, RUFIN promoted good policies that created satisfactory working environment for grassroots financial institutions to benefit. It improved the lending environment, funds flow and sustainability support to the microfinance sector. It engaged in training and capacity building to improve their services in order to facilitate easy access to credits.
Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) were strengthened and the programme eventually established linkage between these institutions and formal financing institutions and down to the rural dwellers. “As a result of the capacity building we received from RUFIN, we developed rural business plan and have started implementing it. Our customer base has increased; we have been able to spread our tentacles. We are doing business with 27 women groups mentored by RUFIN. More rural people are accessing credit facility from us and zero default rate. RUFIN groups don’t default, they are highly responsible.
“Aside from capacity building, RUFIN also provided us with ICT equipment such as laptops, printers, accounting software which has helped us in keeping records. We now have improved financial reporting. It has been a wonderful working relationship with RUFIN. The impact we see today is as a result of this technical support by RUFIN,” said Mr. Ayodele Odufowokan, Head, Group Micro loan/Rural Finance, Excel Microfinance Bank, Eruwa, Oyo state. Credit flow from MFIs to the rural communities has cumulative figure of N30.983 billion till date. This is a huge jump from N47.1 million as measured in May 2011.The number of loan beneficiaries totalled over 714, 000 farmers.
As a result, at the community level, group members have developed savings habit and financial discipline. Capital base of farmers which was as low as N5, 000 – N6, 000 increased to N1-2 million and over 20,000 rural groups were formed and strengthened. They were eventually linked to financial services with about 40 per cent of them already lifted out of poverty.
Within two years, RUFIN’s sustained follow-up finally unlocked the MSMEDF to the financial suppliers in 2014 and N78.77 billion disbursed. RUFIN’s contribution of $1.5 million to the NIRSAL guarantee facility also eased Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) R-MFIs access to the MSMEDF by reducing collateral requirements to only 5 per cent.
“About N8, 747,015,234 credit was accessed by over 80 MFIs including Non-Governmental Organsiations and Financial Cooperatives from MSMDF, NAPEP, BOA and other state government micro-credit initiatives. Household level lending to low income and poor rural dwellers has improved in contrast to the start of the programme. Number of MFBs rendering online returns to CBN increased from 20% in 2010 to 85% in 2015.”
“RUFIN’s support is immeasurable. Our capacity has been built on so many issues related to business management, record keeping, business plans and financial management. These training have helped us successfully manage our business. Before now, we were not doing internal savings but after receiving training on this from RUFIN, we started saving. Now we give internal credit to our members. In 2013, our group was linked to Bauchi Microfinance Bank and we got a loan of N140, 000 naira which was shared among group members. Each member received N20, 000 naira. We have repaid the loan and RUFIN is working to link us with Bank of Agriculture to access more credit. We are very happy, our business is growing. Now we can support our husbands to take care of family needs. May Allah bless RUFIN,” Hajia Aisha’tu Musa, Chairperson, Zumunta Durum Women Group from Bauchi Local Government Area, Bauchi state, made the assertions on the impacts of the interventions to supporting their livelihood.
According to available records, over 710,770 individual farmers and rural dwellers that benefited from RUFIN loan facilities, voluntarily saved about N16.149 billion as refund.
In conclusion, since some of these initiatives are tailored towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, especially Goal 1 which centres on ending poverty in every form and Goal 2 targeted to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition as well as promoting sustainable agriculture, it is imperative to build partnership to realise the Green Alternative and attain food sufficiency.
