Category: Business

Ogun State has joined the league of rice-producing states in the country with the flagging off of the harvest of 200 hectares of farmland at Magboro Rice Farm in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of the state.

The farm is the brainchild of the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project, supported by the World Bank and aimed at driving economic growth and development in the state.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor Abiodun said that with the flag-off, Ogun State is not only joining states like Lagos, Kebbi, and Bayelsa in producing locally grown rice for the consumption of the people, but also fostering economic development, creating jobs, and improving livelihoods within the communities.

He said: “This is a 200-hectare rice farm. The farmers are mainly women and youths from all parts of the country and not just from Ogun State alone.

“Each farmer was allocated one hectare of farmland; this means that we have 200 farmers in this cluster. This project started in April this year. They began planting in May, and today we are already harvesting, making it a three-month cycle. It means that we can do this three times a year.’

Abiodun noted that the farm, with a seven metric ton yield per hectare, could translate to 1,400 metric tons for 200 hectares of milled rice with an efficiency yield of about 70 percent, which would also translate to about 20,000 bags of milled rice per cycle.

“20,000 bags of milled rice per cycle should be estimated to cost about N1 billion. So, these 200 farmers, made up of women and youths across the country who farm here in just three months, have a revenue of N1 billion. If they do this three times this year, they will earn N3 billion. We have no business being hungry in Nigeria.

“In this place, I have 12,500 hectares of land, and all we have farmed is 200 hectares that yielded N1 billion for 200 farmers. From here, I can feed the rest of the country. We will scale up this project immediately from 200 to 2,000 hectares.

“We can generate N30 billion in revenue. We can take significant steps towards realizing that vision of making Ogun State the food basket of this country,” he added.

The governor stated that the project is in line with President Bola Tinubu administration’s resolve to eradicate poverty and hunger by providing affordable food to Nigerians, adding that the project, apart from increasing rice production, would also address animal husbandry.

Governor Abiodun emphasized that the state is blessed with adequate manpower and natural resources, stating that agriculture remains an important agenda of his administration as it provides employment and raw materials for the numerous industries that abound in the state.

He said the OGSTEP Agricultural Sector Intervention will provide critical support, including advanced agricultural techniques, access to quality seeds, modern irrigation systems, and technical training for farmers, adding that the approach is offered to beneficiaries at a 65 per cent discount on the cost for each mechanization operation.

While lauding the people, especially members of the communities, for supporting the project, the governor promised that the farm would be provided with solar pumps to power the boreholes, as well as modern drones for effective pest control.

Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Hon. Bolu Owotomo, said the project is in tandem with the agricultural policy of the Abiodun-led administration: ensuring food sufficiency for the people.

The Economic Adviser, who is also the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo, while commending the farmers for their determination, noted that the project is part of the agenda of producing food locally to feed the populace.

The Project Coordinator, Mrs. Mosun Owo-Odunsi, said the project, which aims to produce high-quality rice, would positively impact the lives of citizens in all sectors, appreciating the governor for providing the necessary support.

In his goodwill message, the Olu of Magboro, Oba Modiu Alalade, acknowledged the great impact the project has on the communities in the area, stating that the town has enough farmland to accommodate more farmers to produce sufficient food for the country.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has debunked the fake news posted on the verified Instagram and Facebook handles of the First Lady of Nigeria, Mrs Aisha Buhari.

The fake news posted on the two social media handles of the First Lady on Tuesday morning purportedly indicated that the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes have been allowed to be recirculated as legal tender till May 1, 2023 contrary to the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari that only the old N200 banknote is allowed as legal tender till April 10, 2023.

ODUDUWA NEWS reports that not a few Nigerians are currently agitated over the new Naira scarcity, a development that has led to violent protests in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Edo States.

But, minutes later the CBN posted a real press statement it issued days ago and a counterfeited or distorted version of it posted by Mrs Buhari, which conveyed the fake news.

Tweeps and Instagram users received the news with mixed feelings. While some of them praised the First Lady for the new development, others quickly pointed out the inherent bad grammar in the fake statement suggesting that it was a fake news.

Meanwhile, the CBN Governor has reiterated in the recent press release that he would not rescind his decision on the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari and also vowed that he would launch his machineries to go after the people behind the fake news.

The Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) on Saturday shut the popular Quilox Club on Ozumba Mbadwe Street, Victoria Island for its failure to comply with directives on organising events and not obtaining a sound control permit from the Agency. The enforcement exercise, which was jointly carried out by the officials of the agency and the Lagos State Task Force, was also a result of several complaints made by residents in the area.

Reacting to the exercise, General Manager, LASEPA, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe disclosed that the agency received several distress calls with video evidence from concerned neighbours to support their claims on alleged environmental nuisances being perpetrated by the club without consideration to the rights of other residents to a peaceful environment.

“To avert a situation like this, we recently held a stakeholders’ parley with the Owners/Chief Executive Officers of night clubs in the State to address the issue of noise pollution, particularly during the festive period. Lagos had earlier increased the decibels to accommodate leisure/hospitality business interests. We, however, urged them to apply for sound control permits before hosting events to enable us to reach out to the host community of the intended programme and further deploy our officials to the venue for proper monitoring and prevention of excessive noise pollution”, she explained.

According to her, an invitation was extended to Quilox Club, like every other stakeholder, but it was ignored by the management for reasons best known to them. She noted that no individual or group is bigger than society, adding that the Agency is still making efforts to ensure that all interests are protected under the law.

“Entertainment and Lagos are like a conjoined twin, thus our prolific intervention to preserve the sanctity of the State and at the same time sustained its economic relevance through aggressive environmental sustainability drive. To support the entrepreneurship interest of the operators. We came up with a communique which serves as a bond guiding all parties on the mode of operations during the yuletide period and the attendant consequences for non-compliance to the agreement”, Fasawe added.

Amid the biting fuel scarcity experienced across the nation, the Federal Government has cautioned petrol marketers to stop hoarding Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) popularly known as petrol.

The government, in a statement through the Nigerian Midstream And Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), also said there is no plan to increase the price of the indispensable commodity.

“The Authority wishes to inform the public that the Federal Government has no intention of increasing the price of PMS during this period,” the statement read.

“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has continued to import PMS with current stock levels sufficient for 34 days.

“Consequently, marketers are strongly advised to avoid hoarding of petroleum products, while the general public is advised to avoid panic buying. Marketers found hoarding petroleum products will be sanctioned appropriately.”

The authority assures the public that it would continue to monitor the supply and distribution of all petroleum products nationwide especially during the Yuletide season.

For weeks, vehicle owners especially in Lagos and Abuja have had a tough time getting petrol from filling stations. Whilst many outlets are closed, the few ones that are open sell the indispensable commodity for as high as N250 per litre from the uniform price of N169/litre.
The shortage of supply has led to long, grueling snake-like queues at the few open filling stations as motorists and business owners jostle to buy fuel while others resort to black market. The situation has also worsen traffic on major roads as vehicle owners block at least one lane to join queues to filling stations.

Meanwhile, the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) said its members get the essential product for as high as over N200 per litre from private depot owners.