Gov Nyesom Wike has constantly been criticized in the agric sector for lacking in tangible projects and programmes to help create jobs and boost investments.
Now, human right s groups and the Civil Society Organizations (CSOS) have picked up same sector for criticism. The CSOS have thus condemned what it called the continuous lack of investment in the agricultural sector by the Rivers State Government despite budgetary allocation in year 2020 to the tune of N40BN which was later reviewed downwards to N16BN.
The scaling down was due to the effect of COVID-19 on the economy. The group led by Georgewill Enefaa said the condemnation has become necessary as the Gov. Nyesom Wike led Rivers State government allegedly failed to improve on the previous agricultural programme or all together create a new programme since it’s inception in 2015.
The CSOS said: “As you are all aware, we have been calling on the Rivers State Government to make heavy investment in the Agricultural sector to ensure food security and employment generation. This state has scored very poorly on the unemployment survey carried out by the National bureau of Statistics (NBS).
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“For keen observers like us, the unemployment index didn’t come to us as a surprise. The Cassava Processing Company is more of a programme sponsored by Shell and shouldn’t be ascribed as an investment of the Rivers State Government.”
They went on: “World over, agriculture with it’s allied businesses is the major employer of labor. Experts in the sector have severally argued that a well thought out agricultural programme can absorb over one million citizens in Rivers State. RIVCSO demands that government should be more prudent in it’s agricultural spending in the 2021 budget year to get our army of unemployed youths to be gainfully engaged and reduce the rate of insecurity in the State. There is a nexus between unemployment and insecurity.”
Finally, they stated, as the foremost CSO coalition in Rivers State, Rivers Civil Society Organizations called on the Rivers State Government to fix dilapidated section of the Ministry of Agriculture in particular and the Rivers State Secretariat in general for workers who are working under extremely harsh conditions not to use billions of naira to build or renovate the Assembly quarters for lawmakers in the State.
