President Bola Tinubu has met with some northern governors elected under the All Progressives Congress (APC) to receive briefings on their government’s activities in the last year and explore cooperation areas going forward in the New Year.
The governors that he met on Thursday in his office are Muhammad Yahaya (Gombe), Mohammed Bago (Niger) and Umar Namadi (Jigawa).
Speaking after his visit, the Gombe State governor affirmed that he updated the president “on technical issues especially coming through 2023 and into 2024.”
He revealed that they also discussed what the states “can come out strongly this time around to see that we put action to words and see that we make Nigeria work than before.”
The governor noted that towards the end of 2023, Gombe collaborated with the federal government in the areas of healthcare, enabling business environment and other important sectors of the economy.
He observed that collaboration between states and the federal government is key to reviving the economy, adding: “Without the economy picking up, we will continue to be where we are or even worse off and collaboration of the state and the federal government including the local governments is very fundamental for us because if there is any disconnect we may not deliver.”
Yahaya stressed the need to modernize agriculture as the nation seeks ways to ensure food security, noting: “We must be all through from the beginning and to the end, the way it is now, people have to understand that we must modernize. There is a need for machine tools, there is a need for processing.
“Luckily, Gombe State is among the states that have been approved to be part of special agriculture processing zones and we set up industrial parks where we can process all the agric produce that we have in the state. I think if all states will key in and work in tandem with the federal government, we shall easily reach the destination.”
Also speaking after meeting the president, Governor Bago of Niger State said the state has offered itself for the pilot programme under the planned 500,000 hectares of agriculture production announced by President Tinubu in his New Year message.
He said Niger State is now the leading state in terms of the food security initiative of the president as it has already started the implementation of a total of 250,000 hectares dry season farming, “which we’ve already signed an agreement with some companies for off take and just to keep him up to speed with what we’re doing in agriculture.”
Speaking on partnering with the federal government, he stated: “The federal government, if you had listened carefully to the Mr. President’s New Year’s speech, you will have seen the emphasis on agriculture and also the 500,000 hectares the government is planning to farm this 2024. Niger State has also provided itself as a pilot state for that project, and that we are also ambitious to also match with the federal government 500,000 for 500,000.”
According to him, President Tinubu “is positive about it, he is very delighted and happy with what we’re doing and he has given us his blessing and encouragement.”
On insecurity affecting farmers’ desire to return to their farms in the state, Governor Bago said, “They are already back at the farm. Thank you.”
In his remarks, Governor Namadi of Jigawa State disclosed that his administration is targeting two million metric tons of wheat in both the National Wheat Development Programme and the state’s programme as it works towards attaining food sufficiency and for export.
He expressed confidence that Nigeria can export the commodity with its current deliberate plan to attain self-sufficiency.
While thanking President Tinubu for allocating 40,000 hectares of land in the state to the National Wheat Development Programme, he assured him that he is ready to give us all the support required to his government to achieve the set goals saying “whatever we need, we should tell him and he’s ready to support us.”
Speaking on the state’s potential for wheat production, the governor added, “We are number one in wheat in Nigeria. So, the issue is we have already made a difference because we are number one. And then today like I told you out of 120,000 hectares for Nigeria, Jigawa State alone is given 40,000 hectares and that shows that we are making a difference.”
On whether Nigeria could attain wheat sufficiency in Nigeria, he said: “Certainly, we will. In Jigawa State, we have a FADAMA land of over 400,000 hectares. So, that is only FADAMA land that we can cultivate both in the rainy and dry season.”
On the possibility of exporting the wheat, Namadi said, “Certainly, we are going to export wheat over time….We’re doing the first one, and then after this one, we’re going for rice, and the next one, we’re going to wheat, that’s how the cycle will continue to go. Definitely, we’re going to have food sufficiency and we’ll definitely have surplus to export.”
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