President Bola Tinubu, on Monday, said if governors could provide land, he would unveil a comprehensive plan that would solve the farmers/herders’ clashes in the country within two or three weeks.
Tinubu spoke in Minna while inaugurating the remodelled Minna airport terminal and commissioning some agro processing equipment purchased by the Niger State government.
He urged the state governors to quickly pay the N30, 000 wage award to workers to ease their financial stress.
The president described the agricultural revolution agenda of the Niger State governor, Umar Bago, as a bold step in the right direction.
Bago promised to seize every opportunity to aid growth in his state and engender prosperity for the people.
Tinubu stated at the event, “I know what it means as an economic sabotage for roaming cows to eat up the crops of our farmers. I know what it means, I know it could be painful. When we re-orient the herders and make provision for cattle rearing, the problems will be solved.”
He charged governors “to provide the land, I as the president, I am committed to giving you in two, three weeks’ time a comprehensive programme that will solve this problem”.
The president also tasked governors to form groups of three or four for the cultivation of crops in which they have comparative advantage, saying through this initiative the states would generate income and provide employment for their youth.
On the N30, 000 wage award, the president urged the governors to commence the payment in order to relieve workers of financial stress and engender industrial harmony. He said with the resources available to all the states, they were in a position to pay the N30, 000 wage award and the existing salaries of their workers.
He told the governors “I am not giving you order. I am only appealing to you all, the sub-nationals. Whatever the civil servants are taking now, and the wage award, it will relieve the people.”
Tinubu described the agricultural revolution programme of the Bago government as a bold step, and pointed out that with determination, the food security agenda of the present administration was achievable.
According to him, “We have seen the level of commitment here from Niger State. We have seen leadership. A success story of any leader will depend on the ability to do what he is supposed to do at a time when he supposed to it.”
He, however, maintained that to achieve the food security agenda of the administration, the issue of farmers/herders clash must be addressed.
The president, in a release by his media adviser, Ajuri Ngelale, said the event represented another step in the food security and agricultural mechanisation agenda of his administration. He declared that Nigeria must enhance its capacity to feed its people and have enough for export.
Tinubu stated, “We have seen the level of commitment here. We have seen leadership. The success of any leader will depend on the ability to do what needs to be done when it ought to be done.
“It is now time for us to address the challenges and make Nigeria an economy of opportunities. We must care for our people; re-orient our people. I do not see why Nigeria cannot feed all students in its schools.”
The president also told the government and people of Niger State, “I am equally here to partner with you to banish hunger. You are doing the job. And it is necessary for me to support you; it is mandatory as Nigerians.
“When you read newspapers, some of us are confused about whether to abuse the past or the present or to make excuses for the future. But that is not in my dictionary. I think action now, re-engineer the finances of our country and steer it on the right path.
“The student loan programme will commence. There will be unemployment benefits for our graduates. The social security benefits for the elderly and the vulnerable will commence. We are fine-tuning all of that area.
“We need to relieve our people of hunger. Let all the sub-nationals start paying wage awards, pending when the minimum wage is increased. I am not giving an order; I am only appealing. NEC should adopt this.”
Earlier, while appreciating the president for honouring his invitation and inaugurating the facilities, Bago said four states – Benue, Kogi, Kwara, and Lagos – had already signed Memoranda of Understanding on building partnerships for the development of agriculture.
The governor stated, “Mr. President, your presence here today underscores the importance of this occasion for our state, in particular, and Nigeria, as a whole, as we gather to celebrate a good example demonstrated in our modest contribution to infrastructure and agricultural development encapsulated in our New Niger Agenda.
“For us, agriculture is key to addressing the challenges in critical sectors of our economy, and we shall seize every opportunity for the attainment of growth and engender prosperity for the people of our beloved state and, by extension, our country, Nigeria.”
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, disclosed at the occasion that the federal government had signed an agreement with the Brazilian government and German Deutsch Bank Group as financiers of a 995 million euros facility for the Green Imperative Programme, which will provide mechanisation hubs across the 774 local government areas in Nigeria, when implemented.
Kyari said, “A memorandum of understanding between the federal government and the John Deer Group, a subsidiary of Tata Equipment, was signed. The manufacturer has signed to deliver 10,000 units of tractors and implement in tranches of 2,000 units per annum for the next five years.
“The Greener Hope Initiative is another veritable platform the federal government is deploying to ultimately change the deficit narrative in the Nigerian agricultural mechanisation space.”
While in Minna, Tinubu also visited former Nigerian Heads of State, General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and General Abdulsalami Abubakar, with whom he had discussions on the advancement of the country.
Dignitaries, who attended the ceremonies in Minna, included the governors of Lagos, Benue, Kwara and Kogi states, as well as former governor of Niger State, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu.
Deji Elumoye and Laleye Dipo
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