The National Council of State (NCS) yesterday endorsed a decision by the Federal Government to inject fresh $1 billion (about N360 billion) into the agricultural sector for increased economic activities and promotion of livestock farming. Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents at the end of council meetingatthePresidential Villa, Abuja.
Government said it has,in the last two years, spent about $200 million through the implementation of various support programmes in the country’s agricul-tural sector. Amosun, who announced the plan and approval by council earlier, said the initiative was part of government’s deliber ate efforts to diversify the economy and create additional agricultural activities to boost job creation.
After over six hours of deliberations on security, economy and electoral matters, the meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, endorsed the new plan in the agricultural sector. Explaining the decision, Amosun said the $1 billion will be disbursed through agricultural programmes from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) such as the Anchor Borrower’s Programme, the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS) and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL). According to him, Council deliberated extensively on how to diversify the economy, efforts being made to pull Nigeria out of doldrums, as well as steps being taken to move Nigeria out of recession and the progress made so far. Amosun said: “Council advised that we improve on the funding on agriculture.
That the paltry sum of $200 million, when compared to what is being pumped into the oil sector, is insignificant. “Council recommended that at least about $1 billion be pumped into agriculture. Council noted how Nigeria moved the budget from about N4 trillion to now about N8 trillion. It also noted that when this President came in, he was jostling at a very deep because oil had nose-dived from $112 in 2014 and in 2016 it was $30.”
The Ogun State governor, who was also joined by the governor of Anambra State, Willie Obiano, said Council advised that planting should be done all year round and not only during planting seasons.
“Council said that we should grow what we will need, what we will eat and eat what we grow; the era of wasting our very scare foreign exchange on everything that we will need is over,” he noted. In his remarks, Governor of Jigawa State, Abubakar Badaru, said: “For those states that have grazing reserves, they will have support to provide watering points for the already existing herdsmen.
“For states that do not have enough land to do that, there will be some solution if they so desire by the Federal Government to create ranches, and the Fulani herdsmen who will be there will be given support. “We are just saying that $1 billion will be used to support agriculture. Livestock is part of that.”
Obiano told reporters that Council approved the appointment of two nonlegal practitioners to the Federal Judicial Service Commission and a national electoral commissioner for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the 23 members of National Population Commission (NPC).
Meanwhile, the chairman of INEC, Professor Mamood Yakubu, also led a delegation of officials from the electoral body to brief council. Although the INEC chairman did not brief reporters, it was gathered that his presentation centred on preparations for the 2019 general elections. Four former presidents – Goodluck Jonathan, Ibrahim Babangida, Shehu Shagari and Ernest Shonekan – were absent from the meeting.
The meeting had three former Heads of State – Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Olusegun Obasanjo and Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, in attendance. Former Chief Justices of Nigeria in attendance were Mohammed Uwais, Idris Kutigi, Alfa Belgore and Aloma Muktar. Before the meeting commenced, Buhari had gone round the Council Chambers to shake hands with his visitors.
The governors in attendance were those of Sokoto, Delta, Adamawa, Imo, Benue, Lagos, Nasarawa, Abia, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kebbi, Plateau, Kano, Wike, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Ekiti, Kogi, Zamfara, Osun, Ogun, Niger and Ebonyi. The deputy governors of Bayelsa and Enugu were also in attendance. The first meeting of the Council under this administration held in October 21, 2015 while the second held in September 2016. The Council of State is an organ of the Federal Government saddled with the responsibility of advising the executive on policy making.
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