CBN Playing Politics With Agric Loans, Wike Alleges

The Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, has alleged that politics has been used to deny the state access to agricultural loans offered by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Wike made the accusation when he hosted the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mustapha Baba Shehuri at Government House, Port Harcourt, last Monday.
The governor decried the situation where every issue in the country, including agriculture, has been politicised instead of implementing such policies dispassionately to achieve the intended food security and jobs for the youths.
“I think, I am one of those states that nobody gives loans for agriculture. I don’t know what hatred the CBN governor has for us? We do not know.
“We have been hearing of Anchor Borrower this and Anchor that. But when it concerns Rivers State, you will hear a lot of things”, the governor said.
Wike explained that in an ideal situation devoid of politics, the Central Bank of Nigeria will partner with the Rivers State Government to achieve the objectives of setting up the state-owned cassava processing plant.
“Please, tell the governor of Central Bank to remember us too, that we are part of Nigeria. When we applied, they said this loan was N5billion. We have applied for more than one year now. They said we should bring this and that.
“They said we should bring the co-operative societies, and I said, ‘this is where the politics comes from’. If I want to eat government money, I can seat here and write cooperative societies. Previous administration took loan, and said they gave it to cooperative societies of over N3billion. Who are these cooperative societies? And the money went off like that.
“And we are telling you, ‘see the cassava processing plant’ that you are supposed to say we will buy into this, we will support the state government. Nothing has happened.”
Wike said even without the loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria, his administration was achieving a revolution in cassava processing that would create jobs for youths and enduring patronage for farmer folks.
“It is not in dispute that to take the country out of where we are agriculture is key. If we are sincere with the reality that agriculture will employ a lot of our youths; give them jobs and achieve food security, then, we must do it in such a way that we really mean what we say.”
The governor said the state government would invite the minister of agriculture to commission the cassava processing plant.
According to him, many companies have keyed in already to buy off what will be processed.
“We have over 3,000 farmers who have registered. From them, the company will buy off all their produce. We are happy with this feat”, he said.
Speaking further, Wike expressed surprise over the road projects and provision of solar-powered electricity that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture claimed to have provided to rural communities in the state.