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Nigeria Won’t Face Food Crisis, FG Replies IMF

Published

3 years ago

November 22, 2022

Editor

Nigerians should not be afraid of any form of food crisis, the Federal Government said on Monday, as it kicked against the projections of the International Monetary Fund.

It stated that several measures had been put in place to forestall the scarcity of food in Nigeria, stressing that there was no need for panic among citizens across the country.

On Monday, The PUNCH quoted the International Monetary Fund as saying Nigerians should brace up for higher food prices/risks in 2023 due to recent floods and high fertiliser prices.

But the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development opposed the position of the global financial institution, as it provided a document detailing what the FMARD had done and was doing to avert such a crisis.

“People shouldn’t be afraid of any food crisis. The minister has explained this and so people should not express fear about their (IMF) projections,” the Director, Information, FMARD, Joel Oruche, told our correspondent.

In the document on the Long/Short Term Measures to Ameliorate the Disruptions of Food Production and Supply in Nigeria, the ministry said it was implementing various interventions to mitigate the anticipated disruptions occasioned by the recent floods.

The FMARD said it had distributed “assorted food commodities from the Federal Government strategic food reserve to the vulnerable and flood victims through the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.”

It added, “Distribution of early maturing seeds (wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, cassava cuttings), fertilisers, agro-chemicals and agro-equipment to affected crop farmers across the country.

“Distribution of subsidised agricultural inputs (fertilisers, certified seeds and agro-chemicals) to affected wheat, rice and maize farmers for dry season farming under Agricultural Transformation Agenda Phase 1 and Public Based Operations across the 36 states and Abuja.”

The ministry said brooded broilers for restocking of affected smallholder poultry farms had also been distributed nationwide, adding that the mass vaccination of animals to prevent incidents of disease outbreaks that usually occurred after flood disasters was currently ongoing.

The FMARD further stated that it was collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Interior to improve security on farms through the deployment of agro-rangers across the country.

It said the government had approved five-year tax break as an incentive to encourage private investments in the agricultural sector and increased food production, processing and marketing.

“Restocking of the strategic food reserve with 200,000 metric tonnes of assorted food commodities,” it stated.

It added, “There is the engagement in land preparation in collaboration with the state and Local Governments to open more land and take advantage of residual moisture for dry season farming,” among others.

News

FG Shuts 22 Illegal Tertiary Institutions

Published

3 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The National Commission for Colleges of Education has uncovered and shut down 22 illegal Colleges of Education.

The discovery was made during a crackdown on illegal colleges of education in the country.

The development was revealed in the commission’s achievements, seen by our correspondent.

“The NCCE identified and shut down 22 illegal Colleges of Education operating across the country.

“The NCCE conducted personnel audit, financial monitoring in all the 21 federal colleges of education,” the commission said.

President Bola Tinubu had recently urged the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education and the National Commission for Colleges of Education to weed out illegal higher institutions of learning in the country.

Speaking at the 14th convocation of the National Open University of Nigeria in Abuja, the President ordered the NUC, the NBTE, and other agencies to take decisive action against what he described as “certificate millers” undermining the credibility of the education sector.

Tinubu, who was represented by the Director of University Education at the Federal Ministry of Education, Rakiya Ilyasu, warned that the integrity of the academic system must not be compromised.

“At this juncture, it has become imperative to reiterate that this administration remains committed to strengthening the integration of all agencies involved in the administration of education to enhance efficiency and quality,” the President said.

He added, “The National Youth Service Corps, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, the National Universities Commission, the National Board for Technical Education and the National Commission for Colleges of Education are working in alignment to improve the quality of education and ensure that cases of forgery and unrecognised institutions both within and outside the country have no place in our education ecosystem.”

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EFCC Orders Arrest Of Dismissed Officer On Lege Miami’s Show

Published

5 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has condemned the actions of one of its former staff, Olakunle Alex Folarin, who was recently spotted participating in a matchmaking programme on social media platforms hosted by popular entertainer Lege Miami.

The agency has ordered his immediate arrest for retaining official EFCC property, including an identity card, following his dismissal for certificate forgery.

The anti-graft agency, in a statement on its official X handle on Monday, said Folarin served as a driver at the EFCC’s Ibadan Zonal Directorate.

He was, however, dismissed after investigations confirmed he had forged his academic credentials.

It said, “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, condemned in the strongest terms, the involvement of one of its former staff, Olakunle Alex Folarin, in a matchmaking programme running on Lege Miami social media platforms.”

“Folarin was recently dismissed from the Commission for certificate forgery. He was a driver at the Ibadan Zonal Directorate of the EFCC.”

The statement said EFCC Executive Chairma,n Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered Folarin to be arrested and emphasised that Folarin’s actions should not be associated with the commission.

“The Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered his arrest for being in possession of some Commission’s properties, including an identity card, which he should have handed over upon being dismissed from the EFCC.

“The public is advised against associating Folarin’s post-dismissal conduct with the EFCC,” the statement concluded.

News

NERC Transfers Regulation Of Electricity Market To Bayelsa

Published

5 hours ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has transferred regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Bayelsa State to the Bayelsa Electricity Regulatory Agency.

In a notice on its social media handles on Monday, the commission said this was in compliance with the amended 1999 Constitution and the Electricity Act 2023.

“In compliance with the amended Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electricity Act 2023 (Amended), the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued an order to transfer regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Bayelsa State from the Commission to the Bayelsa State Electricity Regulatory Agency,” the commission said.

Recall that with the Electricity Act 2023, the commission retains the role as a central regulator with regulatory oversight on the interstate/international generation, transmission, supply, trading, and system operations.

The Act also mandates any state that intends to establish and regulate intrastate electricity markets to deliver a formal notification of its processes and requests NERC to transfer regulatory authority over electricity operations in the state to the state regulator.

The transfer order by NERC directed Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company Plc to incorporate a subsidiary distribution company to assume responsibilities for intrastate supply and distribution of electricity in Bayelsa State from PHED.

PHED was also directed to complete the incorporation of PHED SubCo within 60 days from August 21, 2025.

“The subcompany shall apply for and obtain a licence for the intrastate supply and distribution of electricity from BYERA, among other directives,” the commission said.

It concluded that all transfers envisaged by the order shall be completed by February 20, 2026.

With this order, Bayelsa has joined states like Lagos, Imo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Enugu, Niger, Edo, Oyo and Plateau, which have got the power to regulate electricity markets.

The state can now generate, transmit, and distribute electricity while issuing licences to investors within the value chain.