Business
Airport Manager Tasks Stakeholders On Safety
The Airport Manager, Margaret Ekpo International Airport (MEIA), Mr Ayodele Sunday, has called on all stakeholders at the airport to ensure safety at the airside through compliance with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standards.
Sunday, who made the call while inaugurating three safety committees at the airport, Tuesday, said that all hands must be on deck to ensure compliance to avoid sanctions.
The committees inaugurated were: Departmental Safety Officers (DSOs) which include safety officers from all departments in FAAN and safety officers from other stakeholders.
The second was the Runway Safety Team, comprising of Heads of technical departments in FAAN ,ASM, ATOM and representative of Air Traffick Controllers.
The third was Airport Safety Committee comprising of airline station managers, SM Ground Handling Company and heads of agencies, among others.
The airport manager maintained with emphasis on the airside, that safety should be a collective responsibility and not just a specified departmental duty.
Prior to the inauguration of the committees, there was an awareness on safety campaign/promotion, to sensitse airport staff through video presentations and lectures on foreign object debris and airside safety . Questions, complaints and observations were raised by participants which comprised of all agencies , stakeholders and airline representatives.
Corlins Walter
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The Federal Government has been urged to balance consumer protection with farmers’ sustainability by ensuring timely food imports, input subsidies expansion and price stabilisation mechanisms to secure investments across the agricultural value chain.
An agriculture expert, Dr Fatai Afolabi, gave the advice at a forum organised by the Plantation Owners’ Forum of Nigeria (POFON), in collaboration with the Oil Palm and Other Oil Seeds Value Chain, themed ‘Current Government Food Strategy, the Concomitant Effects and Implications for Food Security in Nigeria’, and held in Lagos, Wednesday.
Afolabi cautioned that the recent food import policies, while easing consumer prices, could undermine local farmers and long-term food security if not carefully managed.
He noted that Nigeria’s food system was navigating an exceptionally difficult period, marked by inflationary pressures, climate variability, insecurity in major food-producing regions, and rising energy and logistics costs.
He said the Federal Government’s decision to temporarily relax restrictions on selected food imports was understandable, noting that the market had responded swiftly with a reduction in prices of major staples.
However, the convener observed that while the policy had brought much-needed relief to consumers, it posed significant challenges for local farmers and agriculture value chain investors.
“While output prices have fallen, the cost of producing food in Nigeria remains stubbornly high.
“Farmers continue to contend with expensive fertilisers, rising transport costs, costly improved seeds and agrochemicals, limited access to affordable credit, poor electricity supply, weak road infrastructure, and inadequate storage and processing facilities, which result in significant post-harvest losses.
“This situation, where farmers sell produce at declining prices while production costs remain elevated, has created widespread distress across agricultural ecosystems,” he said.
Afolabi said the effects were being felt across all segments of agriculture, with rice farmers among the hardest hit.
He said reports from producing states indicated that about 3,500 rice farmers were considering exiting rice cultivation after incurring estimated losses of over N93 billion.
He added that cassava farmers were selling produce at prices that barely covered harvesting costs, leaving them unable to recover their investments.
According to him, vegetable and edible oil producers are also under pressure as imported vegetable oil brands reduce demand for locally processed alternatives.
He added that cocoa farmers continue to battle price volatility in international markets amid rising domestic labour and maintenance costs.
Afolabi noted that tree crops such as oil palm and cocoa, which require long gestation periods, were particularly vulnerable to sudden market disruptions that undermine investor confidence and discourage new investment.
He said the effects extended downstream to agro-processing and value addition, with soybean farmers supplying vegetable oil processors experiencing reduced demand and lower prices.
He said the development threatened not only farm incomes but also rural employment and agro-industrial growth, raising concerns about national food security.
According to him, sustained losses could force farmers out of production, increasing Nigeria’s dependence on food imports and exposing the country to global supply shocks, foreign exchange pressures and long-term vulnerabilities.
Afolabi cited India and the Netherlands as countries offering useful lessons in balancing consumer protection with farmer sustainability.
He said India deploys food imports strategically during shortages, while complementing them with strong domestic support systems.
He added that the Netherlands, despite being one of the world’s leading agricultural exporters, supports farmers through input subsidies, tax incentives, affordable energy, strong cooperatives, and close integration with research and extension services.
He said agricultural students in both countries also benefit from subsidised tuition, transportation and meals, as well as grants and start-up support for farm enterprises.
“This approach ensures generational continuity and innovation in the agricultural sector,” he said.
Afolabi said Nigeria’s current food import policy could play a stabilising role if complemented by deliberate measures to protect local producers.
He recommended carefully timed imports to avoid peak harvest periods, strengthened price stabilisation mechanisms, aggressive subsidies for critical farm inputs, and support for agro-processors to remain competitive.
He also called for clear communication of policy intentions to reassure farmers that import measures were strategic and temporary.
“Food imports should function as a strategic shock absorber rather than a permanent market feature.
“Government should develop and publish a national crop production and harvest calendar for major staples and align import decisions with documented supply gaps.
“Affordable food and profitable farming are not mutually exclusive goals. With thoughtful coordination and sustained support for farmers, Nigeria can achieve both,” he said.
Business
FMN Calls For Entries for 5th Edition of Prize for Innovation with Focus on Cassava Industrialisation
Flour Mills of Nigeria (FMN), a leading diversified pan-African food and agro-allied group, has officially opened entries for the fifth edition of its annual Prize for Innovation (PFI 5.0).
Building on a five-year legacy of driving transformation across Nigeria’s agricultural value chain, the 2026 edition, themed ‘Innovative Practices in Cassava Production and Processing,’ focuses on advancing homegrown innovations in cassava, reinforcing the group’s commitment to local content development and sustainable food systems.
The initiative is open to registered Nigerian small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in the food and agro allied sector and student innovators.
Successful participants in the SME category will receive cash prizes of N5 million for first place, N3 million for second place, and N2 million for third place.
In the student category, winners will receive N300,000, N200,000 and N100,000 for the top three positions. Beyond prize money, winners will gain access to corporate mentorship and industry insight to support the commercialisation of their solutions and drive business longevity.
This year’s focus reflects a deliberate response to one of Nigeria’s economic paradoxes, being the world’s largest producer of cassava, while continuing to import significant volumes of cassava-based industrial derivatives.
Through PFI 5.0, FMN is directing attention to innovations capable of strengthening cassava industrialisation.
Speaking on the milestone edition, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), FMN, Mr. Boye Olusanya, said: “The FMN PFI 5.0 is an industrial priority. Over the past five years, we have deliberately supported local innovation in building solutions within Nigeria’s food system. Our focus on cassava is strategic. It holds the key to industrial self-sufficiency, and economic progression through the Food and Agro-allied space. Since its inception, the FMN Prize for Innovation has been enabling sustainable food systems in Nigeria, and progressively reduce dependency on imported raw materials.”
Since its launch in 2021, the FMN Prize for Innovation has empowered 24 innovators across four editions, disbursing over N42 million in funding, and over N200 million in the provision of structured system to help winning ideas scale.
Previous editions have addressed priority areas including food loss and waste, local content development, precision agriculture and livestock farming.
Also speaking, the Managing Director, FMN Agro and Group Director, Strategic Stakeholder Relations, FMN, Mr. Sadiq Usman, said the initiative is structured to deliver long-term outcomes.
“The Prize for Innovation is designed to move ideas beyond the concept stage. By combining funding, mentorship and access to industry insight, we have enabled past winners to strengthen their operations and progress towards commercial viability. We expect the fifth edition to further deepen the pipeline of scalable cassava-focused innovations,” he said.
According to the company, entries are now open and will close on March 16, 2026.
Interested innovators can learn more and submit their applications through the official prize for innovation website.
Business
Oyetola Present ?10.5bn 2026 Marine and Blue Economy Budget …Describes as Grossly Inadequate
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Mr. Adegboyega Oyetola has presented a ?10,499,984,667.10 budget proposal for the ministry for the 2026 fiscal year
Oyetola also said that the allocation was far from sufficient to effectively execute the ministry’s mandate across Nigeria’s maritime sector.
The Minister made the revelation while defending the budget before a joint sitting of the Senate Committee on Marine Transport and the House of Representatives committees on Ports and Harbours; Maritime Safety, Education and Administration; Shipping Services; Inland Waterways; and Ocean and Fisheries.
He said the proposed budget which comprises ?8.24 billion for capital expenditure, ?453.86 million for overhead costs, and ?1.81 billion for personnel would only sustain minimal operational continuity rather than drive meaningful sectoral reforms or growth.
Oyetola stressed that the ministry oversees multiple interlinked sub sectors, including ports, shipping, inland waterways, fisheries, and aquaculture, all of which collectively handle over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s international trade by volume, national food security, and economic competitiveness.
“While agencies such as the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, and Nigerian Shippers’ Council are self-funding and make significant remittances to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, their operations are being severely constrained by excessive deductions at source by the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation,” Oyetola said.
He warned that these deductions had weakened liquidity and reduced operational flexibility, with far-reaching consequences, including port congestion, higher logistics costs, delayed cargo movement, revenue losses, and inflationary pressures.
“What appears to be an accounting issue has become a national economic concern,”he said.
Oyetola highlighted a critical misalignment in budget allocations, noting that the 2026 budget for the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) was wrongly placed under the Ministry of Transportation, despite the agency falling under his ministry.
He said the misplacement undermined policy coherence and oversight within the maritime logistics value chain.
On inland waterways, the minister appealed for increased funding to prevent accidents and loss of lives, emphasising that water transport is globally recognised as significantly cheaper than road transport.
Oyetola lamented that Nigeria’s overreliance on road haulage—responsible for more than 80 per cent of freight movement—has worsened road deterioration and increased the cost of goods.
“Safer and more efficient inland waterways will ease pressure on roads and lower logistics costs,” he said.
On fisheries and aquaculture, Oyetola disclosed that Nigeria’s annual fish demand of over 3.6 million metric tonnes far outstrips domestic production of roughly 1.4 million metric tonnes, sustaining imports valued at more than one billion dollars annually.
Post-harvest losses of up to 30 per cent further reduce supply, he noted, despite fish being one of the most affordable sources of animal protein for Nigerian households.
He assured that the ministry is working to boost local fish production and reduce reliance on imports.
The minister further revealed that in 2025, the ministry’s revised capital budget of ?3.53 billion recorded an actual cash release of just ?202.47 million, representing approximately 1.7 per cent, while overhead releases stood at 35 per cent.
He said discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning to address the funding gaps in line with the Federal Government’s drive to diversify the economy through the marine and blue economy.
Earlier Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Wasiu Eshilokun, assured that the National Assembly would give the proposals careful consideration, stressing the strategic importance of the marine and blue economy to national development and economic resilience.
Chinedu Wosu
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