Business
NYSC Denies Bomb Blasts At rientation Camps
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Director-General, Brig.-Gen. Maharazu Tsiga, has debunked media reports of bomb blasts in some orientation camps in the country.
In an interview with newsmen in Maiduguri yesterday, Tsiga expressed surprise at the reports, saying they were baseless.
“The issue of bomb explosion in Maiduguri NYSC orientation camp is not true, and no corps member died because the camp has at no time recorded any blast.
“Our camps are very peaceful nationwide. Our corps members are in high spirit all over the country, training in the camps.”
Tsiga said the reports were “mischievous and targeted at causing unnecessary tension in the country”.
“The publications are untrue. How can somebody claim that people died when the camp is still on?.
“I want to repeat that our camps are peaceful, and activities are going on peacefully in all parts of the country.”
He said the wrong information was capable of causing distractions among the corps members, who are busy undergoing their orientation in the camps.
“I can’t understand why people are trying to create panic among the corps members for no reason.”
Tsiga also referred to some text messages by anonymous persons claiming that there were explosions in the orientation camps, describing them as false.
He appealed to the public to disregard such text messages.
In Yobe the Police Command has directed landlords to furnish it with detailed information about their new tenants and land buyers as part of security measures to contain the activities of criminals.
Mr Hyacinth Medugu, the command’s Deputy Commissioner of Police, told newsmen yesterday in Damaturu that the measure became necessary to check the influx of questionable characters into the state.
He explained that the command was closely monitoring the movement of people in and out of the state, especially those relocating to the area, in view of the current security challenges in some states.
“The command is partnering with other security agencies to check possible movement of arms and ammunition.
“We have, since the April elections, formed a working relationship with other security agencies and opinion leaders to monitor security situation in the state.”
Medugu said the command had also initiated meetings with commercial motorcycle operators and retired police officers to re-strategise for a collective approach to security related issues.
He noted that the command had also re-strategised its operations with more patrol vehicles deployed in the field, stressing that the measure had assisted the police to recover some stolen vehicles.
Our correspondent reports that the command recently took delivery of armoured vehicles to be deployed at strategic locations, including public utilities and bank premises to check possible security breaches.
Similarly, Kogi Government has dispatched seven buses to Maiduguri to bring home more than 300 students of the state origin trapped in the Borno capital.
The President of the National Association of Kogi Students (NAKOSS), Mr Dare Zacheus, confirmed the buses’ dispatch to newsmen in Lokoja yesterday, saying they left for Maiduguri early in the morning.
He said the students would start to arrive in batches as from Friday and described the state government’s intervention as a relief to NAKOSS and parents of the stranded students who, he noted, had run out of money and food for days.
Our correspondent recalls that NAKOSS had in a save-our-soul message on Wednesday asked for government’s assistance in rescuing the trapped colleagues, mostly students of the University of Maiduguri.
The university was closed down indefinitely on Monday following persistent threats of attack on it by members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect.
Zacheaus specially thanked Gov. Ibrahim Idris for providing money and security back-up for the evacuation team, which included himself.
The student leader promised that NAKOSS would reciprocate the good gesture by being partners in progress with the state administration.
The association reiterated its earlier call on security agencies and the Federal Government to find a lasting solution to the security problem in the country.
Business
NASS Engages Agric Minister On Food Crisis
The National Assembly through its joint committee on Agriculture Production Services and Rural Development has engaged the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari on an urgent solution to food inflation bedeviling the country.
The committee chaired by Senator Saliu Mustapha (APC Kwara Central), at an interface with the Minister, interrogated him on plans being put in place to arrest high cost of food prices in the country and make it affordable and available to the poor masses.
In his response, the Minister said the Federal Government has commenced distribution of 42,000 metric tonnes of grains to some focal points of state capitals nationwide.
“We have received directive and approval from Mr. President to distribute for immediate impact 42,000 metric tons of assorted grains free of charge to the Nigerian population.
“This was received in mid-February, as we are speaking, we have a record of the distribution being carried out, but I will want to plead with the honorable house and distinguished senators that some of the movements can’t be made public but a lot of states have started receiving their grains.
“We are distributing to state capitals in the first instance as you all are aware of the risk involved in the vandalism of foodstuff so we are working with the office of the national security adviser and other national security agencies.
“Furthermore, 58,500 metric tonnes of milled rice from mega rice millers will also be released into the market for stabilisation”, he said.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the interactive session, Senator Mustapha expressed satisfaction with the steps being taken by the federal government.
He said: “From our interactive session, we are on the other side of the parliament; we are fully in the picture of what is happening, we are convinced that the steps being taken by the federal government are in the right direction.
“All we did again is to further emphasise on the need for certain things to be done on time, I think from this collaborative approach by the grace of God, Nigerians will have a better feel of the government policy on food security”.
Business
Obj Harps On Cheap Credit, Policy Consistency For Food Production
Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has called on the government to provide cheap credit and ensure policy consistency to enable farmers increase food production in the country.
The former President made the call as food inflation and nutrition security concerns grow in Africa’s most populous country.
Obasanjo’s made the call at the 9th Agrofood & Plastprintpack conference in Lagos recently, where he said farmers in the country were yearning for consistency in policy and single-digit interest loans to drive growth in the sector and attain food security.
“Policy sustainability and predictability is what farmers want. It helps them to plan. Availability of finance is also what farmers want. They cannot survive on the double digital interest rate”, Obasanjo, who is also a farmer, said at the conference.
According to him, food and nutrition security start with availability, then affordability by ensuring that everyone who needs food can get it.
He noted that food was one of the major imperatives in life, adding that “there cannot be food without agriculture and agribusiness”.
Obasanjo further stressed the importance of agriculture in changing the fortunes of the economy, with attendant exponential gains by way of earnings, employment, food security and other spin-offs.
He noted that agriculture must be made attractive to the country’s teeming youth population, saying this would address the rising unemployment, worsening insecurity and youth migration through the Mediterranean.
“We have to make agriculture attractive to the youths. We have to think within and outside the box to make it attractive to the youths so they are willing to get their hands dirty and feet wet”, he advised.
He continued that “Part of the security issue is owing to our inability to get them engaged. The need for agro-food and agribusiness is for food security, employment, wealth creation and income generation, particularly foreign exchange”.
Speaking also, Wouter Plom, the ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, said his country had faced challenges similar to those Nigeria confronts – feeding a growing population with limited resources.
He said as partners with a joint vision, the Netherlands and Nigeria recognise that the agricultural sector was one of the prominent drivers for economic growth.
He noted that the Netherlands has further strengthened its partnership with Nigeria to boost the agriculture sector in three main areas- economic growth, improved diets and youth employment.
The ambassador noted that all the challenges in driving growth through the sector, improving diets and tackling unemployment can be addressed when food production is efficient.
Paul Maerz, Managing Director of Fairtrade Messe, said with more investment in agro-food & plastprintpack solutions, products and technologies, brighter days were ahead for Nigeria’s agriculture.
Business
Abuja Farmers, Others Lose N12bn To Ginger Disease
The Federal Government, has confirmed the outbreak of ginger blight epidemic in four States in Nigeria, saying ginger farmers have lost over N12 billion due to the disease.
The government disclosed this at the inauguration of the National Ginger Blight Epidemic Control Taskforce in Abuja, revealing that the fungal disease had inflicted significant damage on ginger farms in Kaduna, Nassarawa Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, said the blight had caused billions of naira in losses, impacting not only the livelihoods of farmers, but also Nigeria’s position as the world’s second-largest ginger producer.
“Our preliminary estimates suggested that affected farmers in southern Kaduna lost over N12bn.
“Furthermore, considering that over 85 per cent of Nigeria’s ginger cultivation occurs in this region, we can safely assume a substantial loss of cultivated land, potentially exceeding 70 per cent of total land”, he stated.
Abdullahi, however, stated that the Federal Government through the National Agricultural Development Fund would launch a N1.6bn recovery package for affected farmers in ginger-producing areas.
He said the ginger blight epidemic served as a stark reminder of the importance of preparedness in safeguarding agricultural resources, adding that by investing in research, extension services and farmer support systems, “we can build a more sustainable future for our agricultural sector”.
On his part, the Chairman of the task force committee, Abubakar Abdullahi, said there was no doubt that the blight on ginger had negatively affected the Gross Domestic Product earnings from this subsector.
“It is of necessity and great urgency that various subcommittees are put in place to forestall these negative effects”, he stated.
Abdullahi assured the minister of the commitment of the team to salvage the situation, as he pleaded with the minister to give the committee the power to co-opt members that would add value to the task force to discharge their duties efficiently and effectively.
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