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Oxfam Seeks Joint Assessment For Nigeria’s Food Reserve

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Oxfam International has called on the Federal Government to set up a consultative group to conduct joint assessment of the country’s food reserve systems.

Associate Country Director, Oxfam Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Ojei, told our correspondent last Thursday in Abuja that this would enable the country to forestall any form of food crisis.

Oxfam is a civil society group involved in the fight against global poverty and hunger.

“The advice for the government is that there should be a quick assessment of the current situation and not just look in Nigeria alone but look at what is going on in the neighbouring countries and look at how we can actually improve our food reserve systems.’’

According to him, the current food crisis being experienced in some countries in the Sahel region like Chad, Mauritania, Niger and Mali could spread to Nigeria.

He explained that food prices had more than doubled in those countries, adding that aids had not gone to the countries as they should be.

Ojei added that there were tendencies for those countries to look to their neighbours for food access.

He observed that Nigeria is one of the countries that Niger would turn to for food relief saying that this could have a negative impact on the former.

“We don’t have surplus of food; maybe we have just enough to take care of the current growing population.

“But if we then have other countries depending on us for food then there’ll be food crisis definitely because the limited food resources that we have would then be depended on by other countries as well.

“And that might have a negative impact on livelihood of so many people and of course access to food and affordability as well, because it will definitely raise the price of food in Nigeria.’’

Ojei advised government to address the issue of ageing small-holder farmers.

He said that a lot of young people were not interested in going into small-scale farming, and to make matters worse, they did not have access to modern technology.

He urged government to proactively look at how it could provide accessibility to modern technology tools and credit facilities to enable farmers to improve on their productivity.

Ojei added that Oxfam had begun an initiative called the ‘Grow Campaign’ which focused on making food available in abundance.

He said that the ‘Grow Campaign’ would address issues of food use, food productivity and food affordability.

He added that it would also create channels through which vulnerable communities would be able to have access to food at affordable price.

“It’s a global campaign. I say global because Oxfam works in a hundred countries and out of those countries there were specific countries that were selected as focus countries. Nigeria is one of the focus countries for ‘grow campaign’.

“We are sensitising people on what the campaign is about and we are using our local networks through the Association for Small Scale Agro-allied Producers in Nigeria and we are hoping that as a result of this we would actually promote more avenues for more people to get engaged in the campaign.’’

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NPA Assures On Staff Welfare 

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The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, has said the management will continue to accompany its port infrastructure  and equipment  modernization drive  with the development of the welfare of its personnel.
Dantsoho made the disclosure recently while responding to the commendation by the Maritime Workers Union (MWUN) and the senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations and Government-Owned Companies (SSASGOC) on the  clearing  of the age-long problem of employee stagnation, when the union paid him a courtesy visit at the Authority’s headquarters in Lagos.
A Statement by NPA’s General Manager Corporate & Strategic Communications, Mr. Ikechukwu Onyemekara, quoted Dantsoho as saying,  “our Port infrastructure and equipment modernization drive will go hand-in-hand with continuous staff welfare improvement”.
The NPA MD disclosed that human capital development constitutes the key strategy for creating and sustaining superior performance under his watch, adding that “talent development constitutes a critical success factor for the actualization of the big hairy audacious goals we have set for ourselves especially in the area of Port competitiveness.
“The only way we can meet and indeed exceed stakeholders’ expectations is to deepen the competencies of our human resources assets and boosting their morale.”
Speaking further, Dantsoho commended the Honourable Minister of Marine & Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, for approving the strategic proposal of the Dantsoho-led Management team that solved the over a decade-long problem of lack of promotion that had fuelled industrial disharmony.
“I must specially appreciate our amiable Minister for graciously approving the multi-pronged stratagem we deployed that cleared all outstanding cases of employee stagnation by conducting examinations in one fell swoop and instituted timelines to forestall a recurrence of such anomaly”, he sad.
Speaking on behalf of the joint maritime labour unions, the President  of Senior Staff Association of Statutory Corporations & Government-Owned Companies (SSASCGOC), Comrade Bodunde stated, “In addition to clearance of the backlog of stagnated promotions, we also wish to express our appreciation for the increase in productivity bonuses, provision of end-of-year welfare packages for staff, and the revision of the Financial Guide to the Condition of Service, which now addresses our members’ concerns about inflationary pressures.”
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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ANLCA Chieftain Emerges FELCBA’s VP

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National Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Elder Olumide Fakanlu, has been elected Vice President of the Federation of ECOWAS Licensed Customs Brokers Association (FELCBA).
The election took place during the FELCBA Congress, held from Tuesday, June 17th to Thursday, June 19th, 2025, in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Fakanlu’s emergence as Vice President marks a significant achievement for Nigeria within the regional customs brokerage community.
Apart from Fakanlu, Secretary of the Seme Chapter of ANLCA, Austin Nwosu, was also elected, securing the role of Secretary of Relations with Institutions.
The Nigerian delegation played an active role in the congress, with Michael Ebeatu nominated as a member of the electoral officer team, ensuring a fair and transparent election process.
The three-day congress concluded with delegates undertaking a visit to the Sierra Leone Port, offering insights into the host nation’s maritime operations, followed by a recreational trip to the Tokeh Beach.
The newly elected executives are expected to lead FELCBA in its efforts to harmonize customs brokerage practices, promote trade facilitation, and advocate for the interests of licensed customs brokers across the ECOWAS sub-region.
Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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NSC, Police Boost Partnership On Port Enforcement 

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In a bid to enhance more enforcement in the nation’s Port, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has reaffirmed its commitment to stronger inter-agency collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
The Council said the collaboration is aimed at enhancing stronger enforcement, compliance and improve operational efficiency across Nigeria’s ports.
Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer of  NSC, Dr. Pius Akutah, made this known during a visit to the  Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, at the Force Headquarters, Abuja.
The visit, which he said, focused on strengthening institutional synergy, comes in the wake of growing responsibilities for the NSC under the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Akutah emphasized the critical role of security agencies in supporting port operations and ensuring regulatory compliance.
He called for the posting of police officers to assist the Council’s monitoring and enforcement teams at key port locations including Lagos, Warri, Onne, Port Harcourt, and Calabar.
“The posting will complement the activities of our revived task teams and enhance our ability to enforce standards across the maritime logistics chain”, he said.
Earlier, the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. Egbetokun, assured the Council of the Force’s readiness to continue supporting the growth of the maritime sector.
The IGP acknowledged that compliance enforcement is essential to the successful implementation of Nigeria’s Blue Economy objectives.
“The NSC and NPF are expected to deepen collaboration in the months ahead, with a shared focus on building a secure, efficient, and competitive port environment”, to the IGP emphasized.
Chinedu Wosu
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