President Bola Tinubu has met with some northern governors elected below the All Progressives Congress (APC) to obtain briefings on their authorities’s actions within the final 12 months and discover cooperation areas going ahead within the New 12 months.
The governors that he met on Thursday in his workplace are Muhammad Yahaya (Gombe), Mohammed Bago (Niger) and Umar Namadi (Jigawa).
Talking after his go to, the Gombe State governor affirmed that he up to date the president “on technical points particularly coming by way of 2023 and into 2024.”
He revealed that additionally they mentioned what the states “can come out strongly this time round to see that we put motion to phrases and see that we make Nigeria work than earlier than.”
The governor famous that in the direction of the top of 2023, Gombe collaborated with the federal authorities within the areas of healthcare, enabling enterprise atmosphere and different necessary sectors of the financial system.
He noticed that collaboration between states and the federal authorities is essential to reviving the financial system, including: “With out the financial system selecting up, we are going to proceed to be the place we’re and even worse off and collaboration of the state and the federal authorities together with the native governments may be very basic for us as a result of if there may be any disconnect we might not ship.”
Yahaya harassed the necessity to modernize agriculture because the nation seeks methods to make sure meals safety, noting: “We should be all by way of from the start and to the top, the best way it’s now, folks have to know that we should modernize. There’s a want for machine instruments, there’s a want for processing.
“Fortunately, Gombe State is among the many states which have been accredited to be a part of particular agriculture processing zones and we arrange industrial parks the place we are able to course of all of the agric produce that we have now within the state. I believe if all states will key in and work in tandem with the federal authorities, we will simply attain the vacation spot.”
Additionally talking after assembly the president, Governor Bago of Niger State mentioned the state has provided itself for the pilot programme below the deliberate 500,000 hectares of agriculture manufacturing introduced by Nigeria President in his New 12 months message.
He mentioned Niger State is now the main state when it comes to the meals safety initiative of the president because it has already began the implementation of a complete of 250,000 hectares dry season farming, “which we’ve already signed an settlement with some firms for off take and simply to maintain him up to the mark with what we’re doing in agriculture.”
Talking on partnering with the federal authorities, he acknowledged: “The federal authorities, for those who had listened fastidiously to the Mr. President’s New 12 months’s speech, you should have seen the emphasis on agriculture and in addition the five hundred,000 hectares the federal government is planning to farm this 2024. Niger State has additionally offered itself as a pilot state for that challenge, and that we’re additionally bold to additionally match with the federal authorities 500,000 for 500,000.”
In keeping with him, Nigeria President “is constructive about it, he’s very delighted and proud of what we’re doing and he has given us his blessing and encouragement.”
On insecurity affecting farmers’ need to return to their farms within the state, Governor Bago mentioned, “They’re already again on the farm. Thanks.”
In his remarks, Governor Namadi of Jigawa State disclosed that his administration is focusing on two million metric tons of wheat in each the Nationwide Wheat Improvement Programme and the state’s programme as it really works in the direction of attaining meals sufficiency and for export.
He expressed confidence that Nigeria can export the commodity with its present deliberate plan to realize self-sufficiency.
Whereas thanking Nigeria President for allocating 40,000 hectares of land within the state to the Nationwide Wheat Improvement Programme, he assured him that he’s prepared to present us all of the help required to his authorities to realize the set targets saying “no matter we’d like, we must always inform him and he’s able to help us.”
Talking on the state’s potential for wheat manufacturing, the governor added, “We’re primary in wheat in Nigeria. So, the difficulty is we have now already made a distinction as a result of we’re primary. After which right now like I instructed you out of 120,000 hectares for Nigeria, Jigawa State alone is given 40,000 hectares and that exhibits that we’re making a distinction.”
On whether or not Nigeria might attain wheat sufficiency in Nigeria, he mentioned: “Actually, we are going to. In Jigawa State, we have now a FADAMA land of over 400,000 hectares. So, that’s solely FADAMA land that we are able to domesticate each within the wet and dry season.”
On the potential for exporting the wheat, Namadi mentioned, “Actually, we’re going to export wheat over time….We’re doing the primary one, after which after this one, we’re going for rice, and the subsequent one, we’re going to wheat, that’s how the cycle will proceed to go. Undoubtedly, we’re going to have meals sufficiency and we’ll undoubtedly have surplus to export.”