Nation
Food Security: RIFAN Assures Nigerians Of Increased Rice Production
The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) Oyo chapter has assured Nigerians of their commitment to boost rice production to reduce high cost of the commodity.
Mr Samuel Akande, the RIFAN Chairman, Oyo, gave the assurance in an interview with The Tide correspondent yesterday in Ibadan.
Akande said that the farmers’ target for years was to get quality rice to the table regularly and cheaper than it is presently.
He noted that the association encouraged members to engage in commercial farming of the commodity in good land size in order to achieve its goals.
“In Oyo state, it is not the non-availability of farmers to plant rice, but the non-availability of the enabling facilities.
“We are still hoping to know what the government may have for us in the area of land, land clearing and tractors, hitherto, it has been the sole responsibility of the farmers here,” he said.
Akande remarked that the RIFAN/CBN/Unity bank Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) had been the only sure hope for rice farmers in the state.
He said that all relevant inputs required by smallholder farmers were included in the ABP package, based on the assumed capacity of the farmer.
“All over Nigeria, rice pyramids are coming back on a serious note, RIFAN has been selling rice paddy to millers with the intention to bring the price of rice down.
“Farmers are really not feeling safe to work their full capacity to produce food on daily basis as they are being attacked and their rice farm grazed without hindrance.
“No land clearing equipment, irrigation systems are not being maintained where they are available.
“Another area of challenge is the flood/drought experiences which the farmers can’t control unless there is a well planned and managed irrigation system, small holder farmers cannot put this in place without government’s intervention.
“To boost rice production, what we, the farmers can do and which we have been doing is to recruit more people to plant rice and train them, with farmers on ground, any willing government will find it easy to identify and locate the right farmers to support,” he said.
According to him, RIFAN has been getting fertilisers, water pumps, hoses, sprayers, herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, among others as input loans.
Akande said that to beat down the market price of rice, governments at the various levels needed to be make conscious efforts in that direction.
“Farmers can only produce for the market, our middlemen buy low and sell high so only the government has the wherewithal to fix the price at a desirable level.
“We also urge Nigerians to imbibe the culture of eating our locally produced foods to encourage continued existence of such a project.
“It is in continuing over a considerable long time that we can expect perfection,” he said.
Nation
Council Boss Impeached 48 Hours To LG Polls In Katsina
The Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government Council of Katsina State, Maharazu Dayi, has been impeached.
Maharazu Dayi was impeached yesterday by 11 out of 12 councillors, barely two days before the local government elections in the State.
The councillors reportedly took action following allegations of misconduct and poor governance against the chairman after a dispute over the distribution of the council’s Paris Club funds.
The development has sent shock waves across the local government area, especially as the impeached chairman is among those who failed to secure the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest in the forthcoming election.
Nation
Association Tasks Fubara On Rumuwoji Market Phase Three
The Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association, Mile 1, Port Harcourt, has urged the state government to utilise the available spaces within the area to build phase 3 of the Rumuwoji Market in order to solve the ever increasing needs of traders.
The association, which said this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt, also described as a welcomed development the decision by the state Governor to open the phase 2 of the market for business.
According to the association, “We consider it as an answer to the various cries of the people, because he is a man on a mission who is out to place the interest of Rivers people first. It is a dream come true for the first time for the market to be dully allocated and open for business”
Chairman of the association, Hon Godspower Wobo, who briefed the press shortly after a meeting of the association in Port Harcourt, also urged the public to disregard the activities of some persons whose stock in trade is to cause disaffection in the market.
He said the attention of the association was drawn to the activities of some strange fellows who went about misforming the people about situation in the market, stressing that apart from his association, no other group exists in the market except subdiary unions.
Wobo also tasked the reallocation committee to tread with caution so as to avoid being deceived by any group.
According to him, time has come for the state government to engage in robust discussion with aggrieved shop owners who went to court and those who paid monies to the state coffers and issued with allocation certificates for the overall interest of peace.
He also advised the public to deal directly with his association, stressing that the meeting was to review activities for the last year as well as unveil their new Constitution.
Also speaking, former Chairman of the association, Deacon Kenneth Eze urged the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to open the phase 2 of the market, as it is long overdue.
Eze who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the association also urged the public to do business with only the Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association as it is the only union recognised by the traders.
Nation
AfDB President Denies 2027 Presidential Ambition
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has debunked reports linking him with the race for Nigeria’s presidency in 2027.
Reacting to the report on his X handle yesterday, following a recent interview with Arise TV, the AfDB boss said his quotes were misrepresented and misinterpreted in several Nigerian media reports.
However, the AfDB president denied the media reports, stating that he never said that he wanted to contest for President.
“A segment of my recent interview on @Arise TV has been both misinterpreted and misrepresented in several Nigerian media outlets. What I said was, “I will be available to serve in any capacity, globally, in Africa, anywhere, including my own country.”
“A listen to the substantive and robust interview, which is available online, will show this to be the case. For clarity and for the record, I did not say that I am running for the office of President of Nigeria,” Adesina said.
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