Business
Ikuru Calls For Paradigm Shift In Agriculture
Rivers State Deputy Governor, Engr. Tele Ikuru, has called for a paradigm shift in the way the agricultural sector is managed.
Engr. Ikuru made this call today while delivering the 2nd Professor Uche Godwin Nzuko Anazodo Memorial Lecture (PUGNAML) with the theme: “The Politics of Agricultural Mechanization and National Food Security”, organized by the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology (CEET), Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State held at the Senator Pius Anyim Auditorium of the university.
He said that “government needs to move away from running the agricultural sector as government projects to running agriculture as business,” disclosing that “this is the contextual framework upon which the current political leadership under the visionary Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, CON, Executive Governor of Rivers State has developed an agricultural development model that places mechanization as well as other investments in the hands of stakeholders including the private sector and individual farmers. This model operates the principle of Agribusiness and not agricultural project development”.
He further stated that “agricultural engineers and researchers need to look more inwardly into finding the right technologies that match the needs of local farmers,” pointing out that “big enterprises and individuals at the corridors of power have to separate selfish interest and aim for national development”.
Delivering his Keynote Address, the keynote speaker and Chairman, O.T. Otis Engineering, Abuja, Engr. Otis Anyaeji, represented by Engr. Jonathan Okoronkwo, called on Agricultural engineers to enlighten the government and investors that Nigerian agricultural engineering firms have to be engaged in order to domesticate the technologies and transfer expertise to local practitioners, pointing out that the time has come for agricultural engineers to have their mentalities upscaled for participation in diverse areas of the sector.
In his speech, Chairman of the occasion and Executive Chairman, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr Sam Amadi, commended the organizers of the lecture for creating public service models for the youths to emulate, stressing the need for the public sector to interface with the private sector in driving development, calling for a robust synergy in putting agriculture on the right footing in the country.
Earlier in his Welcome Address, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Hillary Edeoga, said the PUGNAML “has become a biennial event that bridges the town and gown to rub minds on the role of Engineering and Technology in national development,” noting that the theme of the lecture is “timely and very important,” adding that introducing modern technology into agriculture has become imperative because “agricultural production using the old traditional manual implement is not sustainable”.
In his Opening Remarks, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Professor Ogbonnaya Okoro, noted that the lecture is aimed at developing role models for our students as well as create platforms for strategic interactions and serve as a forum to discuss achievements, challenges and prospects of Engineering and Technology in the country.
Some Commercial drivers in Port Harcourt have said that the Federal Government’s N1,350 fuel discount is yet to reduce their daily operating cost.
A cross session of commercial drivers who spoke to The Tide correspondents in Port Harcourt said they are yet to feel the impact of the government discount, adding that most filling stations in the city are even selling above the pump price
A driver Jude Ogbo who operates the mile 1 Rumuokoro axis of Port Harcourt said plies the discount has not reflected in his daily fuel expenses.
“Since the discount was announced, many filling stations still sell at the old price. When you go there, you discover they sell you two litres at the price of one. For now, we have not seen any reduction,”_ he said.
Another commercial driver, Comrade Ishmael Uzeho who operates within the Port Harcourt metropolis, said the discount is not being implemented across the country.
“How has the discount affected us? I will say it has not. Many stations are not working. Only NNPC is working and that is just one person in the whole country. If government really wants to help, let the fuel price go down properly,”_ he said.
Uzeho added that if the price of fuel goes down, transport fares will also go down. He noted that his route fare has remained at N500.
On his part, Mr. Moses Dapa, Supervisor at Sam Jaja Foundation Transport Company, said the company has not increased its fares despite the high cost of fuel.
“We are still running normal price. We charge N2,000 and N5,000 depending on the destination. We will not increase our price. I don’t know about other parks, but for Sam Jaja, we are maintaining normal price,”_ Dapa said.
He appealed to passengers to understand that drivers are not using high fuel price as an excuse to charge excessive fares.
Other drivers who spoke said the federal government should monitor the NNPCL retail stations to ensure that the directive is implemented.
Recalled that The Federal Government in abid to reduce transportation cost in the country had announced a 30-day margin discount at NNPC Retail stations across the country from October 1 to 31,
However investigation revealed that the policy is yet to affect transportation cost in the country.
By; Stephens Sopakriba and Saint Davies
In a press statement released to The Tide’s source on Friday in Abuja, the group said Nigeria had a significant resource advantage due to its vast natural gas reserves.
“At a time when global energy markets face unprecedented volatility and rising operational costs, Nigeria stands on a massive resource advantage with its vast natural gas reserves,” the group said.
Highlighting this potential, Alfa Designs urged the nation to move past complaints over energy costs and aggressively embrace Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a sustainable engine for economic growth.
While federal policy adjustments have sought to cushion the impact of global energy shocks, industry experts emphasised that long-term relief hinges on a rapid, nationwide transition to gas.
“Transitioning away from expensive traditional petroleum products promises to ease the financial burden on ordinary citizens.
“It will also reposition Nigeria as an attractive industrial hub capable of drawing foreign direct investment and driving job creation,” it said.
To demonstrate the practical feasibility of this transition, the group said it recently partnered with a global Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to lower the entry barriers for commercial drivers.
“By negotiating directly with the manufacturer, we reduced the total cost of acquiring and installing a CNG conversion kit for commercial tricycles (commonly known as Keke NAPEP) from up to N700,000 down to under N450,000.”
The group said this shift offers dramatic immediate financial benefits for local operators, with petrol currently selling at roughly N1,390 per liter.
It said that, in comparison, at a CNG equivalent price of about N98 per liter, a daily commercial driver using 10 liters of fuel reduces its daily energy expenditure from N13,900 to N3,980.
“This represents a daily net savings of N9,920, or more than 71 per cent.
“Over a standard 26-day working month, drivers save over N257,000, allowing them to fully recover the cost of the CNG conversion in less than 46 operational days.”
The company further stated that when scaled nationally, the economic implications are monumental.
“Nigeria consumes approximately 50 million liters of gasoline daily, costing roughly N69.5 billion per day.
“A nationwide 71 per cent reduction in fuel expenditure would generate daily national energy savings of N49.6 billion.
“On an annualised basis, this shift equates to approximately N18.1 trillion, or $13.5 billion, kept within the domestic economy.”
The group added that those recurring national savings would offer a vital mechanism to help address Nigeria’s estimated $2.3 trillion infrastructure deficit.
It said reinvesting those funds into the economy helps eliminate the 30 to 40 per cent operational overhead currently consumed by imported fossil fuels.
“The resulting boost to corporate margins expands the national tax base, generates reliable user-fee revenues to make major transit projects bankable, and creates a self-sustaining financial cycle,” it said.
