The House of Representatives Committee on the Federal Capital Territory Area Councils and Ancillary Matters has invited the Minister of State for the FCT, Mariya Mahmoud, to explain the poor condition of the Fish Farm Estate in Bwari, Abuja.
During a visit to the farm on Monday, the Committee Chairman, Fred Agbedi, said the situation at the estate does not support President Bola Tinubu’s goal of achieving food security for Nigerians.
Agbedi, who is from Bayelsa State and a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, promised that the committee would do all it could to revive the farm.
Speaking during the visit, Agbedi was unhappy about the total neglect of the farm and described it as a great idea that had been abandoned.
“This committee, today (Monday), in continuation of the oversight on the agriculture department, visited this estate. And to our surprise and disbelief, it is very clear that this noble idea has been abandoned,” he said.
He pointed out that the estate has no basic infrastructure like electricity, water, drainage, or roads, which has made it unusable.
“There’s no electricity, no power, there’s no water, there’s no drainage system, there’s no access road. There are also no drains that take the wastewater from the various fish farms out. There are also no staff to run this place. Security is also a challenge.
“We want to use this opportunity to invite the Minister of State of FCT who supervises this department, to make an appearance with this department before this committee so that some issues as to the functionality of this estate will be addressed,” Agbedi said.
He sympathised with the residents and investors who partnered with the government but were disappointed.
He stated, “When our citizens that we represent, that are citizens of FCT, people that do have knowledge on fish farming, partner with the government, putting their resources to ensure that they contribute to the well-being of this nation and the government reneges on that partnership, it is very painful,” he said.
“There is no way, as a supervising committee, we will fold our hands and see the government not doing the needful to ensure that this sector, the fish farming sector, becomes productive and contributes to the economy and well-being of our nation and our people.”
He promised residents and other stakeholders that the National Assembly would help bring the farm back to life.
“We want to assure you that we will do our best as the National Assembly. We are here on behalf of Mr Speaker, who instituted this committee to oversee this sector. I can assure you that working with Mr Speaker, we will ensure that we bring this place back to life,” he added.
Agbedi said the committee would talk to all necessary authorities, including the President, to solve any budget or administrative issues.
“If it is budgetary issues that are a challenge to FCT, of course, we will speak to them. And we speak to Mr President. If Mr President pays attention to agriculture, pays attention to food security, pays attention to livestock, I mean, this can’t be less of importance to him,” he stated.
He also asked the police to help secure the farm.
The minister said, “We also want to call on the Nigerian police to ensure that this place is given some attention because this is a fish farm. And if there’s no safety, if there’s no security here, of course, the people will not be able to stay here and produce fish and sell to the indigenous residents of FCT.”
He called on the Inspector-General of Police and the FCT Commissioner of Police to act quickly.
Agbedi also said there should be more staff at the estate.
He added, “To hear that you have just one staff member and an NYSC Corps member to manage this estate is an eyesore. And I think that in your write-up to the committee, we want to be sure that you encapsulate all these issues so that we can cause an interface with the Minister of State and other stakeholders in this department.”
He added that the committee might also invite the estate residents for further discussions.
“When it becomes necessary, we are also still going to invite the residents of this farm estate, who are partners with FCT Ministry of Department of Agric, so that we can have an in-depth knowledge of the issues that are of concern to them, so that collectively we can address them,” he said.
Also speaking, the Acting Director of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department under the Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, Dabit Jonas Agbo, said the idea for the farm came from the 38th annual meeting of the Nigerian National Fisheries Development Committee, after noticing the high cost of importing fish into the country.