Business
Leboku 2009: C’River Woos Private Investors
The Cross River State Government has called on private investors to key in into the Leboku international festival in order to use it showcase the rich culture of the people to the international world.
Mr. Gab Onah, the special adviser to the Cross River State Governor on Tourism Development, who made the call at the weekend, said the Senator Liyel Imoke led administration intends to make the Leboku festival a money spinning industry.
Onah explained that Leboku festival was an event for events management department of governor’s office as it was listed in the calendar of the state’s events, stressing that all the promises Senator Imoke made last year as regards making the festival an icon of events and world class have been fulfilled.
According to him, the state government has chosen three local government areas, Yakurr, Bekwara and Akamkpa to key into the state’s tourism plan in order to showcase the rich culture of the people to the international community through their various new yam festivals.
He commended the telecommunication giant MTN for identifying with the celebration and its selflessness, expressing optimism that the company would have better collaboration and understanding so as to continue to impact on the people as part of its corporate social responsibility.
The special adviser promised that despite the government’s involvement in creating a conducive environment for the promotion of tradition and culture in the state, efforts are made to ensure that the culture of the people is not adulterated and always remain intact.
Also speaking, chairman of Obol Opol Traditional Council, Ojor Clement Iwara who stood in for the Obol Opol disclosed that all security arrangements for the success of this year’s Leboku festival have been put in place and commended the state government for all the promises made to the community which he said have all been fulfilled.
He said the government has encouraged the people to be serious with agriculture which has started producing bumper harvest at the end of every planting season.
He said his people were fully prepared and in high spirit to take the festival to a greater height, adding that there was a difference in this year’s celebration as a festival market has been created on the day of grand finale so that people could buy as much yams as they want.
Also speaking, the MTN representative, Mr Charles Uwota, said MTN decided to come together with the Cross River State Government in order to take Leboku festival to a greater height.
Uwota said MTN believes that the festival will boost the culture and tradition of Africa to higher level.
“MTN has actually come together with Cross River State Government to promote Leboku and take Leboku to a greater height. And again, for us to understand one more thing, Leboku is a festival that is actually in everywhere in Nigeria. People appreciate the festival so much”.
He further contended that, “MTN is a brand that has come to identify itself with a very good culture which is Leboku new yam festival, so MTN has come to boost Leboku as a culture to a higher level”.
Commenting on the celebration, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Culture and Heritage, Mrs. Edisua Usang Iso, said that the department of culture and heritage was trying as much as possible to introduce a variety of activities to boost this year’s Leboku new yam festival.
Her words, “of course the maidens that are from Yakuur are going to parade during this program and as you even see as we walk in the community right now that the costumes and the beads and the top if you walk bit closely to them you see that it just have a little thing in form of bra that covers their breast we are trying to be sure that this content of the culture of the people will not be tampered with”.
She said that though culture is dynamic, “but in as much as we want to build in some costumes we won’t destroy the real culture of the people. We can change their fabric attires to African make made to give us the look or what we are expecting”.
It is a cultural celebration that is how this department is coming in why tourism is coming in to promote the culture to an international level and of course event management come in to play to make sure that the event is properly managed to an international standard.
Our correspondent reports that the annual cultural festival in central part of Cross River holds on Saturday, August 22 for this year.
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has criticised Nigeria’s import ban on 25 categories of goods, claiming that the restrictions limit market access for American exporters.
This is the effect of President Donald Trump’s tariffs introduction on goods entering the United States, with Nigeria facing a 14 per cent duty.
The USTR highlighted the impact of Nigeria’s import ban on various sectors, particularly agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
The restrictions affect items such as beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and alcoholic beverages, which the United States sees as significant barriers to trade.
The agency argues that these limitations reduce export opportunities for United States businesses and lead to lost revenue.
“Nigeria’s import ban on 25 different product categories impacts United States exporters, particularly in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, beverages, and consumer goods.
“Restrictions on items like beef, pork, poultry, fruit juices, medicaments, and spirits limit United States market access and reduce export opportunities.
“These policies create significant trade barriers that lead to lost revenue for United States businesses looking to expand in the Nigerian market”, the agency said .
In 2016, Nigeria implemented the ban on these 25 items as part of efforts to control imports and stimulate local production.
Some of the banned items include poultry, pork, refined vegetable oil, sugar, cocoa products, spaghetti, beer, and certain medicines.
On March 26, 2025, the Federal Government also announced plans to halt solar panel imports to encourage local manufacturing as part of its push for clean energy.
A leading agribusiness strategist and digital agriculture expert, Ayo Oluwa Okediji, has sought cooperative-driven investments in sustaining growth of poultry industry in Nigeria.
He said the poultry industry was at a defining moment and requires urgent structural reforms to secure its future and ensure long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the theme, “Strengthening Poultry Farming Through Cooperative Synergy and Strategic Investments”, at the recently concluded Oyo Mega Poultry Workshop 2025 in Ibadan, Okediji called on poultry farmers, cooperative leaders, financial institutions and policy makers to rethink the existing structure of the poultry sector.
He stressed the need to transition from fragmented, individually-driven operations to well-structured, cooperative-led enterprises capable of attracting sustainable financing and securing long-term viability.
He said, “Our poultry sector cannot thrive on individual effort alone. We need to organise ourselves into cooperative clusters, build strong governance systems and position ourselves to attract the level of investment needed to sustain this industry beyond this generation.”
Drawing on lessons from successful global cooperative models such as Rabobank in the Netherlands and Landus Cooperative in the United States, Okediji introduced the FarmClusters Poultry Model, a locally adapted solution developed by Agribusiness Dynamics Technology Limited (AgDyna), a subsidiary of AgroInfoTech Africa.
According to him, the model is currently being piloted in Oyo State in partnership with PANOY Agribusiness Limited and local poultry cooperatives.
The Rivers State Representative of the Nigeria Chambers of Commerce, Mines, Industries and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr. Erasmus Chukwundah, has urged palm oil farmers to consider hybrid seedlings for planting, if they must break even in palm oil business.
Chukwundah said this recently at the Free Oil Palm Business Climate Smart Best Management Practice/Assistance Training organized by Partnership Initiative In Niger Delta (PIND) for Palm Oil Farmers in Elele, Ikwerre Local Government Area.
The Rivers representative said until palm oil farmers begin to consider such hybrid oil palm seedlings, they may not meet up with the daily increasing demand of palm oil in the market.
According to him, the seedlings produce up to 30 bunches at once that ripen same time.
He said PIND decided to partner with Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) to ensure that the message was received by the targeted audience.
According to him, palm oil remained a popular choice of industry operators as it could be converted to many other products such as vegetable cooking oil.
He also noted that products such as motor tyers, marine ropes and others are now gotten from the palm tree.
Chukwundah, who is the immediate past Director-General of Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Mines, Industries, and Agriculture (PHCCIMA), further warned against use of unrecommended fertilisers in growing oil palms.
He noted that such practices could limit its export value or chances as the foreign marketers have a way of detecting such .
He reiterated the need for organic fertilizers, including poultry droppings, to enable them have a natural palm oil.
“People must reduce physical contact with palm oil production. That is why we are campaigning for hydrolic oil mills. The foreign markets are no longer interested in crude method of palm oil production”, he said.
Meanwhile, one of the farmers, Sonny Didia, who appreciated Chukwundah’s commitment towards the concern of farmers, appealed for an urgent need for loan opportunity with low interest rate in order to enable them beat the target.
King Onunwor