By Victor Adeoti

Gov. Gboyega Oyetola of Osun, on Wednesday, inaugurated the States Minerals Regulations and Environmental Management Committee.

Oyetola, during the inauguration in Oshogbo, said that the committee was saddled with responsibilities of sanitising the states resource climate.

It is also to resolve the extant challenges being faced on the mining sites and affected communities.

The governor said that the appointment and inauguration of the committee were in line with the Nigeria Minerals and Mining Act 2007, which empowered the committee to oversee the regulation of the entire mining operations in the state.

He said they were also to discuss and advise the Minister of Solid Minerals on matters affecting encroachment, trespass, security, social unrest, pollution and environmental degradation of any land on which any mineral was being extracted as it related to all licence holders within the state.

The inauguration of this committee is another major step towards lifting our state out of economic misery and re-defining our socioeconomic life as a state.

As a government, we have resolved to erect a solid structure for driving our resource-blessed state and delivering resource boom, he said.

Oyetola said the state recognisedthat the exploration and exploitation of solid minerals are on the Exclusive Legislative list of the Federal Government.

He said it must, however, also note that Osun had been faced with the excruciating challenge of environmental degradation, arising from lack of environmental and ecological literacy on the part of the local communities.

This, he said, was coupled with irresponsible and unprofessional mining by licensed and illegal miners.

The governor urged the committee members to educate and sensitise the people on ecological literacy through town hall and media interventions.

He said that most recently, the Osun river had been polluted with heavy metals and other contaminants, thereby threatening investments in the water sector.

Our land is also littered with an array of abandoned mining sites that require decommissioning and reclamation.

I hereby call on this committee to rise to the occasion and ensure this ugly trend is reversed now, Oyetola said.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Doris Esa

The Federal Government has inaugurated the National Gender Steering Committee for the Implementation of Gender Policy in the agriculture sector to enhance food security.

Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, made this known in a statement issued by Mrs Juliet Okeh, the Principal Information Officer in the ministry, on Wednesday in Abuja.

Umakhihe, while inaugurating the committee, said that the initiative would promote and ensure the adoption of gender sensitive responsive approaches, plans and programmes in such a way that men and women would have equal access and control of productive resources.

He said that the availability of the policy document was expected to address the vulnerability of women to biases in the agriculture sector, integrate gender perspectives in national planning; create more jobs for women and financial empowerment.

The ministry is committed to mainstreaming of gender issues in the agriculture sector to achieve food Security, eradicate poverty and hunger in Nigeria, he said.

Umakhihe said that the National Gender Policy in Agriculture was consistent with the Global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by World Leaders at the UN Summit in New York, U.S. in September, 2015 which underscored the vital role agriculture played in sustainable development.

Also, it is importance in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of eradicating poverty (SGG-1), ending hunger, achieving food Security,(SDG-2), ensuring healthy lives (SDG-3) and enhancing the empowerment of All Women and Girls (SDG-5); to bridge the gender gap and enhance food Security.

The agriculture sector has been repositioned as a business through the value chain development and as an alternative to crude oil, therefore efforts should be geared toward the implementation of policies and programmes for the realisation of this governments initiatives and programmes, he said.

He called on the committee members to accomplish the onerous responsibility assigned to them to ensure full implementation of the 11 elective objectives of this policy document for positive outcome.

The Director, Special Duties in the Ministry, Mrs Fausat Lawal, said that the policy document was a developmental strategy for poverty reduction and it was expected to empower small scale holder farmers who were predominately women.

Women small scale holder farmers constitute about 70 to 80 per cent of the agriculture labour force and they produced the bulk of food for domestic consumption, she said.

The Country Director, ActionAid, Mrs Ene Obi, lauded the ministry for deeming it fit to inaugurate the National Gender Steering Committee and ensuring that relevant stakeholders were members of the committee.

Obi said that the implementation of a gender policy had been an issue with government policies and therefore commended the ministrys efforts in identifying the gender gaps in agriculture through the document.

She solicited for the inclusion of executives of the smallholder farmers into the committee and pledged continuous support of ActionAid toward implementation of the policy.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mr Azubuike Nwokoye, thanked the management of the ministry for giving them the opportunity to serve and promised that the committee would deliver on its mandate.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

The African Union (AU) plans to facilitate supply chain improvements in Africa through the construction of industrial parks to improve the manufacturing of agricultural products, a senior AU Commission official has said.

The AU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Josefa Sacko, said an initiative to improve cross-border trade has been agreed and would be implemented.

The Commission is supporting the implementation of the African Common Agricultural Parks (CAAPs), the cross-border initiative focused on agro-processing through small-scale factories.

The AUC is aggressively facilitating supply and improvement in basic infrastructure to support export processing in Africa, Sacko said during a virtual webinar on improving the agricultural trade in Africa.

We are motivated by the knowledge that the manufacturing is responsible for a lower share of Africas exports and a key driver of intra-African trade, the Commissioner said.

The average import account in the African continent reached a total of US billion, growing about 6% every year, the Commissioner whose portfolio also includes the Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, said.

The AU Commission launched the framework to boost intra-African trade in agricultural products and services during a forum it organized with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Fund (FAO) on 17 April.

According to the AU, Africas demand for food exceeds the domestic supply by 20%.

The AU recommends the continent should take advantage of the fast-growing intra-African market opportunities, with the agriculture sector in need of a structural transformation that implies the shift from production systems focused on the subsistence market into others that guarantee benefits for the most vulnerable segments of the population. These include small farmers, rural women and the establishment of a linkage with farmers to the supply chains of regional and global value.

Sacko recognised the important role the agricultural sector plays in Africa.

Agriculture is the dominant sector of the African economy, in terms of its contribution to GDP growth, employment and trade, with African Heads of State pledging to promote intra-African trade in agricultural products and services, markets and local, regional and international trade opportunities.

African leaders pledged to treble, by the year 2025, intra-African trade in agricultural products and services, to create and improve policies and institutional conditions and food support systems, to simplify and formalise current commercial practices, as well as, accelerating the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the transition to a common Continental External Tariff (CET) scheme.

The AU Commissioner noted that market access remains a key challenge, for both intra- and extra-African trade, giving the assurance that the African Union Commission has given support in terms of capacity building of related bodies and chambers of the domestic private sector to appropriately respond to the opportunities offered in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreements.

Africas trade is carried out largely by informal traders, which is a sign of institutional failure and is a testament to the fact that there is a shortage of trade-related capacities in Africa.

Sacko gave the assurance that the establishment of the AfCFTA further reinforces the gains to be achieved in terms of regional integration, in opening up new market opportunities for farmers and other economic operators.

High population growth, rapid urbanization and rising incomes will provide an opportunity not only to increase trade in food and non-food agricultural products and services, but also to increase food security in Africa, she said.

It is common knowledge that Africa is a region that imports food, such as cereals, meat, dairy products, fats, oils and sugar, as the continents demand for food continues to exceed domestic supply.

Meanwhile, the African Union Commission is developing a structure to boost intra-African trade in agricultural commodities and services that will guide Member States and partners in advancing the implementation of the agricultural perspectives and opportunities offered by AFCFTA agenda. (PANA/NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Olayinka Owolewa

The Kwara State Government has launched a 500-hectare farm pilot scheme tagged: Farm Kwara in Ifelodun Local Government Area to boost food security.

The scheme was initiated to create farming communities to nurture future agripreneurs, improve the productivity of smallholder farmers and boost food security in the state.

The Farm Kwara initiative is domiciled in the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on non-governmental Affairs and Team Lead of the National Young Farmers Programme.

The Farm Kwara initiative will soon begin the process of accessing 500 hectares of land in other local government areas to establish farm estates and allocate up to five hectares each to 100 young farmers.

The initiative, an offshoot of the recently launched Kwara Agricultural Transformation Plan, is being facilitated by the government to help young farmers get land and financial facilities to be paid back under a win-win arrangement.

Speaking at the launch of the scheme in Adanla community of Ifelodun Local Government, Kwara Deputy Governor, Kayode Alabi, said half of the beneficiaries would be women.

Alabi added that participants would be provided with inputs, mechanisation and technical support to ensure sustainability.

Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mariam Muhammad, the deputy governor said: Todays programme is another effort at ensuring food security, develop and expand the vast agricultural potential of the state and the nation at large.

For a nation to achieve food security, we must first ensure transformation of the agricultural sector from the age-long subsistence practice to a productively smart and innovative enterprise that is not only eco-friendly but sustainable.

This can be achieved by attracting modern techniques in agricultural commodity values in the state. This is essentially the hallmark of the National Youth Farm Programme.

On our part as a government, we will leave no stone unturned in meaningfully engaging our youths and women in different productive ventures to fight hunger and poverty in our land, Alabi said.

The Technical Assistant to the Governor on Agriculture, AbdulQowiy Olododo, said the programme was one of the initiatives of Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaqs administration to ensure that youths were gainfully employed.

Basically, the government has supported with land clearing and this project is being supported by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Sterling Bank and IITA, Ibadan, to engage youths on agribusiness, he said.

This is a pilot scheme because it will spread across all the 16 local government areas of the state.

What we want to achieve is to significantly reduce the rate of unemployment among youths.

By the time it spreads across the 16 local government areas, you can imagine the ripple effects on the economy.

It is not in the farm alone; other people along the value chain will benefit from this initiative. So, it is a way of reducing unemployment and engaging our youths productively, Olododo said.

The Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Community Intervention, Kayode Oyin-Zubair, said the government supported the development of the state through bottom-up approach to ensure even development and reduce rural-urban drift.

This programme is one of our efforts to develop rural communities and allow rural dwellers to stay in their natural abode.

The farmers and investors will jointly benefit from the programme. Government will not interfere in the scheme to ensure its success and sustainability. Interference in the past did not allow such programmes to be successful,Oyin-Zubair said.

Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Job Creation, Aliyu Alhassan, explained that Farm Kwara, which was designed to nurture agripreneurs, would be commercially driven.

We have technical partners, investors and key stakeholders that will support the programme to guarantee improved yields and empower our people,Alhassan said.

Elerin of Adanla, Oba David Oyerinola Adedunmoye, commended the state government for not only transforming the economy but for also raising a cream of agriprenuers to make the youth job creators and curb restiveness in the state.

Todays event is quite historical because the governor is changing the face of agric sector in the state using Adanla-Irese as a case study.

This is a clear demonstration and confirmation of the rural transformation agenda among several other laudable programmes which the government is implementing

On our part, my community has graciously offered an expanse of land for the programme to support the state and the Federal Government in the rebranding of agricultural sector and development of rural areas, Adedunmoye said.

He urged the government to make the scheme a revolving one to check unemployment and fight poverty in the land. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Femi Ogunshola

A bill for an Act to establish Nigerian Maritime Security Trust Fund and other matters related passed second reading on the floor of the House of Representatives on Wednesday in Abuja.

Rep Yusuf Gagdi (APC-Plateau), the sponsor of the bill, while leading the debate said the bill would provide for the establishment of a special fund for training and retraining of naval personnel for optimum productivity.

He added that it would also providefunding for equipment and machineries that would aid the seamless protection of waterways by the Nigerian Navy.

This according to him, will helpto guarantee a robust economic development of the country.

Gagdi said that oil which was the mainstay of Nigerian economy was sourced and moved through the waterways, while the largest chunk of the country import and export of other goods were carried out through the seas.

He said that it was imperative that the Nigerian Navy was equipped and trained to curb the excesses of pirates, oil bunkers and other illegal activities on the nations waterways that could hamper the nations economic development.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that all contributors to the debate lend their voices to the establishment of the fund and urge the House to pass the bill into law without delay.

The bill was first read on March 15, and sought to exist for eight years from the commencement date of the Act, when finally passed by the National Assembly and assented to by Mr President.

The bill was subsequently referred to the relevant committee for final legislative inputs. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Muhammad Lawal

The Kebbi State Government has engaged the services of two additional consultants to hasten the process of training the 10,000 AGMIES loan applicants across the state.

Mallam Yahaya Sarki, Special Adviser to Gov. Atiku Bagudu on Media, stated this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Birnin Kebbi, on Wednesday.

Sarki said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Wednesday by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Babale Umar-Yauri, on behalf of the State Government, with two consulting firms, Alkali Hussaini Foundation and Research Center for Developing Economies (RECDE), in Birnin Kebbi.

He said the SSG shortly after signing the MoU said the Kebbi State Government had engaged only those Entrepreneurial Development Institutes (EDIs) that had indicated interest with the bench mark set by the government for the programme.

He added that Government had earlier sent open invitation for EDIs assuring that only those who responded to what the government had fixed as its benchmark, as to what government could afford were selected.

Before signing the MoU, virtually all Kebbi-based EDIs had been contacted, there is a benchmark of what the State Government can afford in terms of this programme.

So far, out of all those we have contacted or interacted with, only four of them have shown interest , he noted.

Earlier, the ICT Commissioner, Abdullahi Magoro introduced Aliyu Hussaini, the Executive Director of Alkali Hussaini Foundation and Dr. M. Y. Alkali the Chief Consultant for RECDE.

He said: These two gentlemen are from Alkali Hussaini Foundation and Research Centre for Developing Economies.

We will use up to 10 classrooms and provide facilitators for each of the classrooms of about 50 participants which conform to COVID-19 protocols.

They are all going to work in Birnin Kebbi to make it much faster and convenient for participants fasting during the month of Ramadan.

He further revealed that the venue for the training would be Nagari College in Makerar Gandu in Birnin Kebbi.

The Agri-Business/Small and Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme (AGMIES) is a Federal Government initiative to support the efforts and policy measures for the promotion of agricultural businesses and small/medium enterprises (SMEs) as vehicles for sustainable economic development and employment generation.

Source: NAN News

By Sumaila Ogbaje

The Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali, has pledged to ensure enhanced synergy between the Police and the Army, to effectively address the prevailing security challenges confronting the country.

Alkali gave the pledge when he paid a courtesy call on the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, on Wednesday, in Abuja.

He said his visit was coming against the backdrop of the current security threats in different parts of the country, adding that the police needed the support of the military to carry out its constitutional roles.

He said that in spite of the fact that police was the lead agency in the maintenance of internal security, the current circumstances required the support of the military.

I need to come here and pledge my unalloyed support, cooperation, collaboration and synergy with the military, to enable us provide the required environment for citizens of this country to go about their lawful businesses.

My purpose of coming is to inform you and assure you that the Nigerian Police, under my leadership, will always be ready to work with you in whatever way that will make this country governable, peaceful and enable Nigerians to go about their lawful businesses.

The security environment is very dicey, as we came in at a period when we have to do something extra, that is different from what our colleagues have been doing, and change the narratives, he said.

Alkali said that the security agencies also required the support, cooperation and collaboration of members of the public to effectively tackle the security challenges.

Responding, the Chief of Army Staff, Attahiru, assured that the Nigerian army would continue to cooperate with the police to provide the needed security environment for the citizens.

Attahiru said that Alkalis appointment and those of the service chiefs came at a time the nation was confronted with myriad security challenges such as terrorism, banditry and secessionist agitations.

While commending the efforts of the police in the fight against insecurity, he expressed confidence that the acting IGP would restore the confidence of the populace in the police to protect them.

Attahiru said the appointment of Alkali as IGP was a reflection of the confidence that President Muhammadu Buhari had in him, as well as his commitment and selfless service to the nation.

I want to assure you that the Nigerian army, under my leadership, will continue to synergise and support the Nigerian police to build appropriate capacities, so as to collectively secure the nation, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Sumaila Ogbaje

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, has solicited support of the Senate in ensuring appropriate funding for the Nigerian army to efficiently perform its constitutional roles and defeat all security threats.

Attahiru made the call when members of the Senate Committee on Army, led by its Chairman, Sen. Ali Ndume, paid an oversight visit to the Army Headquarters on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said that the courtesy visit was timely, adding that itafforded them the opportunity to interact and discuss issues that would impact on the funding of army activities and operations.

According to him, Nigeria is faced with a lot of security challenges that includes insurgency in the North East, banditry in the North West and part of North Central.

He said that this also included secessionist agitations in the South East and South South geo-political zones of the country.

To curb and finally defeat these threats, the Nigerian army requires equipment, weapons, armour fighting vehicles, platforms and various combat enablers.

I urge you to as a matter of urgency,consider these critical needs as you legislate and appropriate funds.

I will be counting on your support, so that we can efficiently perform our constitutional roles and defeat all our threats, he said.

Attahiru gave assurance that the Nigerian army under his leadership would remain apolitical and committed to the protection of democracy and good governance in Nigeria.

Speaking, Ndume said the purpose of the visit was to have close understanding of the issues and needs of the Nigerian army and find a way to address them.

Hesaid that Nigerian army had daunting tasks of mitigating the various security challenges confronting the country, adding that the National Assembly was ready to give the necessary legislative support.

He saidthat the service chiefs had been given assurances that they would do their bests to meet the expectations of Nigerians in tackling the prevailing security challenges.

According to him, the bottom line is that they must be given what they need to carry out the assignment and that is money, equipment, personnel which translate into money.

That is why we are calling on the government to give the Nigerian army the necessary support and tools to execute the mandate that is highly expected.

Fortunately, we understand that the supplementary budget will be laid before the national assembly to take care of some of the loopholes and lapses that we saw in the 2021 budget.

And, knowing the new security challenges that we are facing in various regions we are pledging that the national assembly willgive all the necessary support to the Nigerian army.

Especially, when it comes to the issue of budget or supplementary budget that is coming before us, he said. (NAN)

Source: NAN News

Ariwodola Idowu

Immediate past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, says the nations defence architecture under him tried its possible best to stabilise the country and save it from insecurity.

Olonisakin spoke at a special thanksgiving service held in his honour at a Redeemed Christian Church of God in his hometown Ode Ekiti, Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

The former CDS said all security forces worked hard to overcome insecurity, saying the Nigerian Army in particular, in partnership with other security formations worked tirelessly to checkmate insecurity in Nigeria.

According to him,the Armed Forces identified 14 security challenges anddeveloped strategies that bordered heavily on intelligence gathering and workingwith other agencies to tacklethose crises.

Olonisakin thanked God for the privilege to serve the nation at the highest military level.

I also thank President Muhammadu Buhari for giving me the opportunity to head the armed forces for 66 months and 13 days.

We went through the storm and came up with those babies of necessities.

The system did not have those structures to do what we were facing, so we had to come up with ad hoc arrangements like the platforms we created with the intelligence agencies, he said.

He said that he put in series of measures as the CDS with the vision to make sure the nation had well-equipped armed forces that would be responsive to national commitment.

So, I encouraged the officers under me to add value wherever they found themselves.

And. we always think outside the box because if you dont do that, you might not add value and more importantly, to give the system their best.

That was why we were coming up with strategies on monthly basis to address the challenges we were facing on security threats ranging from terrorism, insurgency, to theft, he said.

He said that he outlined 14 of them and made sure that for each of them, the military had strategies to address them.

We were also futuristic in our approach to address some of the strategies. This invasion of our forests by bandits we are experiencing at the moment, I saw it years back.

I did a kind of study and I knew that our next target was going to be the forests.

We changed the training, especially the use of Special Forces, to make sure we brought them in to address the issue.

We also created a platform to synergise with intelligence agencies, because unknown to the public at that time, there was a lot of synergies between the securityand the intelligence agencies.

We also made sure we encouraged a lot of research and development in the Army formation.

So, we did our best for this nation in terms of resolving this pathetic insecurity issue, that I can boldly say, he said.

He, therefore, advised his successor, Lt Gen Lucky Irabor and other security Chiefs to be diligent, patriotic and build on the gains made by their predecessors, for the country to subdue the lingering insecurity crises.

Speaking on his plans as an Ambassador-designate, he thanked Mr President for counting them worthy appointment as Ambassadors-designate.

As ambassadors, we will represent the country well and also project its image wherever we find ourselves, he said.(NAN)

Source: NAN News

By Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

The key market indices of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Ltd. on Wednesday extended gaining streak to four consecutive trading sessions, appreciating further by 0.29 per cent.

The performance was as a result of investors interests in Guaranty Trust Bank and Lafarge Africa.

Specifically, the All-Share Index rose by 112.76 points or 0.29 per cent to 39,128.34 compared with 39,015.58 posted on Tuesday.

Consequently, the month-to-date gain turned positive to 0.2 per cent, while the year-to-date loss moderated to 2.8 per cent.

Market analysts attributed the performance to renewed confidence as bargain hunters continue to leverage low-priced fundamentally viable stocks, amidst first quarter corporate results.

The market gain was driven by price appreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are Conoil, Lafarge Africa, Guaranty Trust Bank, Eterna and Union Bank of Nigeria.

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive, as 22 stocks gained, relative to 21 losers.

Conoil recorded the highest price gain to lead the gainers chart in percentage gains, improving by 9.97 per cent to close at N18.75 per share.

Studio Press followed with 9.88 per cent to close at N1.78, while Eterna rose by 9.48 per cent to close at N6.35 per share.

University Press grew by 9.40 per cent to close at N1.28, while Lafarge Africa appreciated by 6.83 per cent to close at N21.90 per share.

On the other hand, Guinness Nigeria led the losers chart in percentage terms, losing 9.89 per cent to close at N28.70 per share.

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