CBN Takes Campaign For Digital Financial Inclusion For Women, Youth To States

October 27, 2021

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and its stakeholders are billed to take the campaign for digital financial inclusion for women and youth to selected States in the country.

A statement from the apex bank said that the campaign is aimed at facilitating the economic empowerment and inclusion of the women and youth.

The statement said that the programme will aim also at implementing the CBN’s framework for advancing women’s financial inclusion in Nigeria and improve access to financial products and services amongst vulnerable segments of the Nigerian society.

It said that the digital financial inclusion drive has been scheduled to commence from Gombe State on November 1st through to November 5th, adding that it is the first of six engagements expected to cut across states with high numbers of financially excluded women and youth.

The statement identified Bayelsa, Ebonyi, Jigawa, Niger and Oyo as the other States with high populations of vulnerable financially excluded women and youths, adding that those who fall into these groups are expected to benefit from the drive throughout the rest of the year.

According to the CBN, the drive is expected to, among other things, improve financial literacy and build awareness on the benefits of the use of digital financial services and contribute to increased access to Payments, Savings and credit enhancement opportunities for rural women and youth across the country leveraging digital platforms.

It is also expected to promote the uptake of other financial products and services amongst women and youth including insurance, pension and capital market products through agents.

The statement explained that the DFI drive for women and youth in Gombe State will hold across Biliri, Kaltungo, Akko, Yemaltu Deba and Dukku Local Government Areas aimed at creating awareness on the Central Bank Digital Currency and its benefits, credit enhancement schemes of the Government and other financial products and services.

The statement said that the target for the drive is to reach at least 25,000 women and youth across the State.

Meanwhile, a recent report published by McKinsey Global Institute highlighted the critical importance of women’s financial inclusion to global GDP growth and notes that if countries in Africa can focus on closing gender gaps in their respective jurisdictions, the continent could add $316 billion or 10 percent to GDP in the period to 2025.

Nigeria currently has a National Financial Inclusion rate of 64.9%, and a financial inclusion gender gap of 8% and proposes to achieve 93% overall financial inclusion and close the gender gap in access to finance by 2024.

According to the 2020 A2F survey by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access in Nigeria (EFInA), only 26% of adult women and 27% of youths in Gombe State have access to one form of financial product or service.

In addition to reducing the high statistics on women’s exclusion, the CBN’s digital financial drive is also expected to help curb restiveness amongst the youth population by exposing them to economically viable ways of improving their livelihoods and ensure that they understand the need for safety of their funds protected within formal financial institutions.

Abuja Court Freezes All Accounts Of Benue State Government Over N333 Million Debt

Editorial staff

October 27, 2021

A Federal High Court in Abuja has made an interim order, freezing all bank accounts of Benue State Government maintained in some banks in the country following its inability to pay back N333 million loan borrowed in 2008.

Justice Inyang Ekwo, who gave the order following an ex-parte motion brought by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), also directed that the bank accounts of HPPS Multilink Services Ltd be frozen pending the hearing and the determination of the substantive suit.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that while AMCON is the claimant, the company and the state government are 1st and 2nd respondents respectively.

The affected bank accounts for the two respondents are domiciled with Access Bank Plc; Citibank Nigeria Limited; Eco Bank Nigeria Plc; Fidelity Bank Plc; First Bank Nigeria Plc; First City Monument Bank Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Pic.

Others include those in Heritage Bank Plc; Keystone Bank Limited; Polaris Bank Limited; Stanbic IBTC Plc; Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited; Sterling Bank Plc; Suntrust Bank Nigeria Limited; Union Bank of Nigeria Plc; United Bank for Africa Plc; Unity Bank Nigeria Plc; Wema Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc.

The ex-parte motion, with suit number: FHC/ABJ/AMC/74/2021 dated and filed on Sept. 30, was moved by Counsel to AMCON, Darlington Ozurumba.

The motion prayed for five reliefs.

The court also made an interim order “freezing and attaching the JAAC Bank Accounts (Joint Accounts Allocation committee), Internal Generated Revenue Accounts, all bank accounts both current, savings, fixed deposits and/or investments accounts of the 2nd respondent (Benue Government) maintained with all the banks mentioned above the pending hearing and determination of the substantive suit.

“An interim order is hereby made restraining all banks and/or other financial institutions above mentioned in Nigeria forthwith from releasing or dealing in any manner howsoever with monies held in any account to which the respondents are signatories pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit .

“An order is hereby made directing all banks and/or other financial institutions in Nigeria to, within seven (7) days of the date of service of this order, file and serve an affidavit of compliance statement disclosing with on each account howsoever designated, held and/or maintained by the respondents and ail accounts to which the respondents are signatories for a period of sic months prior to the date of service of this order till date.”

Meanwhile, in the affidavit supporting the motion deposed to by Abubakar Isa, a staff of AMCON, the corporation described the loan as a toxic loan of eligible bank assets transferred to it by law to recover.

AMCON told the court that the 1st respondent (the firm), which has its office in Kaduna State, had collected a N333 million loan facility from Bank PHB PLC (now Keystone Bank Ltd) on January 31, 2008 “for the purpose of purchasing 5,000 pieces of motorcycles to the 2nd defendant and its workers through the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) of its state, vide an irrevocable payment order (IPO}).

“That the 2nd respondent is the state government of the loan beneficiaries who equally gave ISPO guarantee for the repayment of the through deduction from the salaries of its workers and make payment to the bank but failed to do so.

“That the l oan was for the agreed period of 24 months at the interest of 19 per cent per annum .

“That the loan granted to the respondents has crystalized to the sum of seven hundred and eighty four million, three h undred and forty thousand, five h undred and t wenty eight naira, three kobo (N784, 340, 428.03) as at 2014 from the sum of N 333,000,000 (Three hundred and thirty three million n aira) granted to the 1st defendant in 2008 and guaranteed by the 2nd defendant as contained in the letter of August 15, 2014 which represents the interest and the principal sum as at Aug. 15, 2014 and same has remained unpaid till date.”

Justice Ekwo then adjourned the matter to November 2 for mention

NNPC To Reconstruct 21 Federal Roads At N621.23 Billion – Minister

Editorial staff

October 27, 2021

The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has announced the approval by the Federal Government for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC) to embark on the reconstruction of 21 roads covering a total distance of 1,804.6 kilometres across the six geo-political zones.

NNPC is expected, according to the Minister, who briefed newsmen today, October 27, shortly after the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at the Presidential villa, Abuja, will execute the project, through the deployment of its own tax liabilities.

It would be recalled that FEC, in July, also approved the award of a contract to Dangote Industries for the construction of five roads totalling 274.9 kilometres at the cost of N309.9 billion, advanced by the company as tax credit.

“Earlier this year, there were five other roads – the Kaduna Western bypass, the Lekki Port road, the road from Shagamu through Papalanto, and a couple of others, and there is one road in Maiduguri. That was about N320 billion,” Fashola said.

“So today (Wednesday), we have another player. We have all the interested players who are still showing interest, but we haven’t concluded. We have another player who has shown interest and commitment to deploy taxes. It’s the government corporation known as NNPC.

“So, NNPC has identified 21 roads that it wants to deploy. Now, the instructive thing about this is that this initiative helps the government to achieve many things, including ministerial mandates three and four, which we discussed at the last retreat. ministerial mandates three and four, if you recall, was energy sufficiency, electric power and petroleum energy distribution across the country.

“Of course, petroleum energy distribution is being impacted positively and negatively, as the case may be the transport infrastructure which is the ministerial mandate four. NNPC has sought and the council has approved today that NNPC deploys tax resources to 21 roads, covering a total distance of 1,804.6 kilometres across the six geopolitical zones.

“Out of those 21 roads, nine are in North Central, particularly Niger state. The reason is that Niger State is a major storage centre for NNPC. NNPC is doing this to facilitate the total distribution across the country.”

Fashola gave an assurance that in the South-West, the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, the Agabara junction, Ibadan to Ilorin (Oyo-Ogbomoso section) will be fixed.

Three other roads are located in the North-East, two in the North-West, and two others in the South-East.

The Odukpani-Itu-Ikot-Ekpene road, the minister said, has now been fully covered to resolve the problem of financing regarding the execution of the road projects.

Speaking about the South-East, he stated, “You have Aba-Ikot Ekpene in Abia and Akwa Ibom States. So that’s a major link, then you have Umuahia to Ikwuamo, to Ikot Ekpene road and so on and so forth.

“In the North-West, it is Gada Zaima-Zuru-Gamji road, and also Zaria-Funtau-Gusau-Sokoto road. In the North-East, it is Cham, Bali Serti and Gombe-Biu road.”

There will be no more financing problems regarding the execution of roads, said Fashola. Source: Channels TV.

Scammers Hijacked eNaira Platform, Launch Fake Version – CBN Raises Alarm

Editorial staff

October 27, 2021

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has raised alarm over fake social media handles of eNaira, the digital currency that was launched on Monday by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

The CBN, in a statement, said that impostors are already defrauding Nigerians, saying: “following the formal launch of the eNaira on Monday, October 25, 2021, the attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to criminal and illegal activities of some individuals and a fraudulent Twitter handle, @enaira_cbdc purported to belong to the Bank.

“The impostor handle and fraudulent persons have been posting messages related to the eNaira with the intent of wooing unsuspecting Nigerians with claims that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), among other falsities, is disbursing the sum of 50 Billion eNaira currency. These impostors are bent on defrauding innocent and unsuspecting members of the public through the links attached to their messages for application to obtain eNaira wallets and become beneficiaries of the said 50 billion eNaira currency.“In effect, the Bank is not disbursing eNaira currency to citizens. To this end, members of the public are hereby warned to be wary of fraudsters who have resolved to take advantage of unsuspecting Nigerians.

“Members of the public should always endeavour to seek clarifications on information about the eNaira either by visiting the eNaira website: www.enaira.gov.ng or calling the eNaira contact centre on 080069362472 or visiting any CBN Branch nearest to them. For clarity, the current official social media handles of the eNaira are: www.facebook.com/myenaira; www.instagram.com/myenaira and www.youtube.com/myenaira Any suspicious activity by members of the public should be reported to the CBN using helpdesk@enaira.gov.ng or to relevant law enforcement agencies.”Any suspicious activity by members of the public should be reported to the CBN using helpdesk@enaira.gov.ng or to relevant law enforcement agencies.”

Why Livestock Sub Sector’s Contribution To Nigeria’s GDP Is Minimal – Minister

Editorial staff

October 27, 2021

The Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Mohammad Abubakar, has attributed various diseases afflicting animals to the minimal contribution of the livestock sub-sector of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

At present, contribution of livestock sub-sector to the nation’s GDP five per cent

The Minister, who spoke today, October 26 in Benin, capital of Edo State, at the 57th Annual Congress of the Nigeria Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), stressed that the sector is confronted with limiting factors among which is the burden of diseases, such as Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia (CBPP).

The Minister, who was represented by Dr. Maimuna Habib, listed other diseases afflicting the animals as

Peste Des Petits Ruminant (PPR), Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Avian Influenza and African Swine Fever, among others.

“I am aware that veterinarians both in public and private sectors are contributing their quota to guarantee optimal health of animals for improved production and productivity.

“To realise sufficiency in the contribution of livestock sub-sector to the Nigerian economy, we need to institutionalise effectively the control of major animal diseases in the country.

“The Federal Executive Council has graciously approved an intervention fund to address the existing gaps in the animal health care service delivery in the country.

“Very soon, the ministry is going to roll out activities in the control of transboundary diseases in the country.”

In his address of welcome, the NVMA President, Dr. Ibrahim Shehu, challenged veterinarians to deploy their professional skills to put an end to the importation of livestock and milk into the country.

Shehu, who bemoaned the huge amount the nation spent in the importation of the produce, noted that thousands of Nigerians had been denied job opportunities as a result.

He said that it was paradoxical that despite the country’s tremendous potentials in livestock, especially cattle, Nigeria still imported over two metric tonnes of milk worth billions of dollars annually.

He said that of the two metric tonnes of fish required in Nigeria annually, over one metric tonnes was imported, despite Nigeria’s large rivers, vast territorial ocean waters and diverse aquacultural practices.

“These are challenges, but they also provide opportunities for veterinarians to deploy their professional skills to ameliorate them for the socio-economic development of the country

“Nigeria and Nigerians beckon on us to ensure, among others, that there is sufficient meat, milk, eggs, and sea foods that are free of pathogens or antibiotics residues.

“There are job opportunities in producing livestock, livestock-based products, poultry and fish, both for domestic consumption and export.

“We have the capacity and sense of duty to face these challenges effectively,”he stated.

Meanwhile, Gov. Godwin Obaseki has promised to implement the resolutions that would be reached at the 57th annual congress of the NVMA.

Represented by his deputy, Philip Shaibu, the governor said implementing the resolutions entailed strengthening the veterinary department of the state’s health sector.

He said that the state was making efforts to provide more jobs opportunities for the people, especially the youths, by proffering solution to the challenges of electricity.

“With the issue of power solved, the youths, with the ideas they have, will grow themselves,” he said.

Speaking on the theme, “The Veterinarian and Global Health Security” Prof. Dennis Agbonlahor, the Guest Speaker, said research had shown that 75 per cent of zoonotic diseases were from animals.

He further said that 65 per cent of diseases in humans were from animals.

“This is a pointer to the fact that the veterinarians are expected to participate in global health initiative to advance global health security,” he said.

The Chairman of the occasion, Chief David Eqdebiri, called on the Federal and State Governments to pay special attention to the veterinary doctors.

He also called on the professionals to make their presence felt in society, adding that their job was too important to be suppressed or relegated to the background.

“Their job to the society is not less important to that of the other medical professions.”

(NAN)

Inspector General Deploys Deputy, 99 Strategic Commanders To Anambra For Nov 6 Election

Editorial staff

October 26, 2021

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali-Baba, has deployed a Deputy Inspector General and 99 other strategic commanders to Anambra State ahead of the November 6 gubernatorial election in the state.

The deployment, according to a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, was aimed at overhauling the security landscape in the state ahead of the polls.

The commanders would be led by Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG), Joseph Egbunike and the Acting DIG in-charge of operations, Zaki Ahmed.

They have a mandate to ensure effective supervision of security personnel and operations during the election.

The statement reads in part: “DIG Egbunike is saddled with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the Operation Order evolved from the Election Security Threat Assessment, to ensure a peaceful environment devoid of violence and conducive enough to guarantee that law abiding citizens freely perform their civic responsibilities without molestation or intimidation.

“Other Strategic Commanders deployed to Anambra State include five (5) Assistant Inspectors General of Police (AIGs), fourteen (14) Commissioners of Police (CPs), thirty-one (31) Deputy Commissioners of Police (DCPs) and forty-eight (48) Assistant Commissioners of Police (ACPs)”.

The senior officers are also to coordinate human and other operational deployments in the three Senatorial Districts, 21 Local Government Areas and the 5720 polling units in Anambra State.

The IGP reassured Nigerians that the Force is adequately prepared for the November 6 gubernatorial election and will collaborate with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other key players in the state.

The statement added, “The IGP calls on citizens in Anambra State to come out en masse and exercise their franchise as adequate security has been emplaced to protect them before, during and after the elections.”

Recall that the police on October 14, deployed 34,587 personnel and three helicopters, technical capabilities of the Police Airwing, the Force Marine, Force Animal Branch and other operational assets for the election.

Anambra has in the last 52 days recorded no fewer than 37 deaths, out of which 10 were security operatives.

UN Scribe Lists Dangers Hate Speeches, Misinformation Are Causing The World

Editorial staff

October 26, 2021

The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has listed the dangers which hate speeches and misinformation are causing the world today.

“A dubious webpage or anonymous post can call into question decades, even centuries, of work, thought, study and careful analysis by scientists, historians or other experts.”

According to him, racist, intolerant and extremist views are fast spreading “like wildfire,” even as they are pushing citizens further apart, undermining democratic ideals and, ultimately, endangering lives.

“Too many people are dying from COVID-19 because they were convinced that accepting the vaccine was the wrong thing to do.”

Guterres, who spoke today, October 26 at the Global Education Ministers conference on addressing hate speech, through education, recalled the horrors of the Second World War and the genocides in Rwanda, Bosnia and Cambodia, caused largely by hate speeches.

The UN secretary-general, welcomed the conference which he said is about discussing ways in which education can help fight back against disinformation and hate speech.

“When we enrich the soil of knowledge with true expertise, with facts, science and historical accuracy, hatred cannot take root,” he explained.

Guterres believes that critical thought is not simply about “thinking for yourself”, but about “having the tools and skills needed to properly assess theories and facts.

“And to tilt the scales in favour of authorities and experts who have spent a lifetime studying, assessing and thinking about these issues, by publicly and privately expressing support,” he added.

Noting that educators, teachers and administrators are the first line of defence, he asked the Ministers of Education participating in the event to be ambitious.

“We need to emerge from this conference with bold, concrete solutions on how we can, individually and collectively, step up the fight against hate speech.”

He appealed for the inclusion of all groups, such as young people, social media companies, governments and political parties, saying: “hatred is a danger to everyone, and so fighting it must be a job for everyone.”

According to the UN, hate speech is on the rise worldwide, with the potential to incite violence, undermine social cohesion and tolerance.

It can also cause psychological, emotional and physical harm based on xenophobia, racism, anti-semitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of intolerance and discrimination.

Speaking at the Conference, UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, reminded that “this hatred is not new.”

“What has changed more recently is the influence and magnitude of social media platforms, which have become an echo chamber that amplifies hate speech.

“The legal response is essential, but it is not enough. We must also mobilise education, because it is through education that we develop critical thinking and deconstruct prejudices.”

The director-general also said that UNESCO stands ready to support its Member States, for instance by developing policy recommendations for educational authorities all over the world.

The one-day event gathered Heads of State and Government, and Ministers of Education, to endorse global commitments to address hate speech, both on and offline, through more effective education measures.

Source: NAN.

Nigeria Loses $2.9 Billion Annually From Tax Waiver To Multinationals, Group Laments

Editorial staff

October 26, 2021

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has lamented that Nigeria has been losing about US$2.9 billion annually to tax waivers granted to multinational companies,

Executive Director of the CISLAC, Auwal Rafsanjani, who made this known at the Pan African Conference on Combating Illicit Financial Flow (IFFs) to Bridge the Widening Inequality Gap today, October 26 in Abuja, added that Africa had lost US$1 trillion in illicit financial flows (IFFs), out of which US$ 50 billion is lost annually over the last 50 years.

He said that in spite of the huge loss to tax waivers, the government increased value-added taxes (VAT), which affected the poor more from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent.

He said that IFFs connected with corruption, crime and tax evasion is an issue of increasing concern that reduced government revenue for financing sustainable development.

“International Monetary Fund and World Bank have all expressed concerns over the likely sharp increase in inequality and poverty arising from the pandemic.

“This is with estimates projecting that 42.1 per cent of the sub-region will be pushed into extreme poverty.

“Worse yet, the World Bank further indicated that the poverty increase could take more than a decade to reverse, erasing all hopes of countries meeting their national development plan targets to reduce poverty and inequality by 2030.

“On the other hand, the wealthiest people in the region fare differently, as the three wealthiest men in the region, who are all based in Nigeria, have seen their wealth expand from US$16.8 billion in March 2020 to US$23.2 billion by July 2021.’’

Rafsanjani said that this is more than enough to fund a full vaccine programme for the entire West African population.

He said that the amount lost to IFFs in Africa is roughly equivalent to all of the official development assistance (ODA) received by Africa during the same timeframe.

Rafsanjani said that these estimates might fall short of reality because accurate data do not exist for all African countries.

He added that these estimates often excluded some forms of IFFs that by nature were secret and could not be properly estimated, such as proceeds of bribery and trafficking of drugs, people and firearms.

The Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Garba Abubakar, represented by Abdulhakeem Mohammed, the Director, Compliance, CAC, observed that the Pandora Papers exposure proved that poverty, inequality, lack of infrastructure, and good governance have not been fully addressed.

Abubakar said that the emergence of a legal framework and the deployment of an electronic register of beneficial owners of registered entities showed the political will to fight corruption.

“Public Registers of Beneficial Ownership are important tools for advancing the fight against corruption, tax abuse, asset shielding, and illicit financial flows and so on.

“Registers of beneficial owners are assisting in no small measure to expose corruption orchestrated by ultimate beneficial owners who ore individuals who ultimately own, control or benefit from registered corporate entities.

Mr Tiawo Oyedele, Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader, in his keynote address, said that Nigeria and other African countries needed to review the tax rules to identify necessary changes in line with the global reform.

He said that this was because even if they were not signing the global reform, it would still impact on them.

Oyedele also added that tackling illicit financial flows was a much bigger problem for Nigeria than tax avoidance.

He said that the level of tax evasion in Nigeria is alarming, adding that South Africa just released their tax results and they collected 34 trillion naira equivalent in the pandemic.

He added that Nigeria had never collected one or seven trillion naira with all its states and agencies put together.

He said that in Nigeria, it was the wrong people that were paying taxes, the minimum wage earners struggling to make ends meet, adding that those were the people exempted from paying tax in other countries.

Oyedele said that this had led to inequality and it needed to be addressed.

He said that Nigeria needed global cooperation, especially with respect to exchange of information, to curb tax evasion, when people steal in Nigeria and take them abroad.

Source: NAN.

Agric Seed Council Begins Training Of Staff On Seed Production

Greenbarge Reporters

October 26, 2021

The National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) and the Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, University of Ibadan (UI), have embarked on the training of the council staff to enhance quality seeds production.

The training, being conducted at the UI, began today, October 25 and is focused on seed research methodology, data analysis and reporting.

Speaking at the event, the NASC Director-General, Dr. Olusegun Ojo, said that the training is to ensure production of improved quality seeds which is one of the mandates of the agency.

Ojo, represented by the NASC Director of Seed Coordination and Management Services, Dr. Jimmy Zidafamor, said the training is to strengthen collaboration with sister agencies to provide quality seeds to farmers.

“We want to equip the staff more as well as deepen their knowledge on seed research, methodology and data analysis so that they can go back to do the needful on the field.

“We are responsible for the regulation and coordination of seed industry. We have the seed components and take research on seeds very seriously because without seeds there will be no crop to protect.

“We have a crop of staff, green hands, to be trained and we have been able to set up our research works with the trainings,” he said.

Also speaking, the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture, UI, Prof. Stella Odebode, emphasised the importance of seeds, saying that without them the country would not be food secured.

“It’s with the seed multiplication that we can produce adequate food for the populace and export. This training is apt because it will impact positively on farmers and agriculture sector in general,” she said.

This was even as the Director of Research Management Office, UI, Professor Ayodele Jegede, said that any nation that does not focus on research would be far away from development.

According to Jegede, it’s unethical for one to collect data without analysing and reporting it to disseminate the information.

“When your data is of no quality it will automatically affect the quality of data you are going to produce, so the basis of your report should depend on the quality of your data analysis.

“Researchers need to always check their data and do literature review which is very critical in carrying effective research.”

Earlier, Professor Rasheed Awodoyin, the Head of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology, UI, said the training is the third of its kind since 2017.

“The first one was held in 2017, second one in 2019 and this is the third, I’m optimistic that the success we will record in this one will supersede others.

“Crop protection starts from production, provision of quality seeds, our department will continue to support the NASC in its mandate.”

Similarly, the workshop facilitator, Dr. Morufat Balogun, said that Nigeria is at the fore front in terms of seed production, research and improvement.

Balogun commended the NASC for always being in motion, especially in the aspect of training its staff.

“The workshop is loaded with worthy resource persons to handle the training. There will also be feedback from participants at the end, of which we will work with later,” she said.

Source: NAN.

High Cost Of Farm Implements, Inputs May Lead To Food Scarcity – CLO Boss

Greenbarge Reporters

October 26, 2021

Chairman of Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) in Anambra State, Vincent Ezekwueme has attributed low food production in the country to high cost of farm implements and inputs.

Speaking in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu today, October 25, the CLO boss stressed that such high cost has made it difficult for the small-holder farmers to thrive.

He advised the Federal, state and local governments to take immediate and urgent measures to rescue impending food scarcity in country as small-holder farmers are finding it hard to continue farming.

This he said was due to unprecedented escalation of prices of farm implements and agricultural products, especially herbicides, pest control and insecticides as well as other tools needed by farmers for easy cultivation.

“It is unbelievable but existential reality that herbicides sold for N1,300 in January has skyrocketed up to N3,500 now, while insecticides and pest control also increased by more than 200 per cent.

“During our discreet investigation due to incessant lamentations by farmers and outrageous cost of food stuff; importers of these farm implements and inputs ascribed the astrological increase in prices to devaluation of naira and scarcity of foreign currency.

“Government should marshal out actions to forestall impending food scarcity in the country as it will be very difficult if not impossible for the common man to afford three squares meal a day.

“There is no doubt that the high cost of food production will precipitate increase in prices. Remember, no farmer no food, no nation.

“So no efforts should be spared to protect and encourage them.

“It is pertinent and a step in the right direction for governments to remove all the bureaucratic bottle neck farmers experience while accessing governments’ loan.”

Ezekwueme called on the governments at all levels to ensure that grants, farm inputs, fertilisers, seeds, agricultural products and loans meant for farmers get to real and genuine farmers, “not political farmers”.

The activist called on government to introduce Farmers National Award Day in other to encourage farmers and appreciate their contributions towards nation building.

“The award will also add value and respect to them and also give them a sense of belonging for without food, there will be hunger, anger and frustration.

“We must strive to help farmers always to enhance their inevitable works, avoid and avert anything that hinders them through avoidance of hoarding and escalating prices of food stuff, farm implements and agricultural products”

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