Ensure hitch free polls in Ondo, Rivers, Buhari tells security agencies

President Muhammadu Buhari has directed security agencies to ensure violence-free elections in Ondo and Rivers states.

Speaking at a state dinner in Benin City, the Edo State capital, on Monday, President Buhari said the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Ondo and National and State Assembly rerun elections in Rivers, would serve as a litmus test for the general elections in 2019.

Ondo gubernatorial election holds November 26 while the Rivers, National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) and State House of Assembly elections is scheduled to hold Saturday, December 10, 2016.

According to a statement by presidential media aide, Garba Shehu, the President said, ‘‘what happened in (the last elections) Kogi, Bayelsa and Rivers State disturbs me a lot. I think we should go beyond these actions. Why do we kill each other? Putting tyres on people and setting them ablaze.

‘‘I have told the law enforcement agencies, if we can’t conduct an election in one state then we should forget about 2019.’’

Acknowledging the role played by outgoing Governor Adams Oshiomhole in ensuring the success of the APC in the last gubernatorial elections in the state, Buhari challenged the governor-elect, Godwin Obaseki, to continue in Oshiomhole’s footsteps of providing purposeful leadership in terms of quality infrastructure, education and social services.

‘‘The publicity your predecessor has given his performance is going to stretch you to the limit. Considering what he has done, you have to continue in his footsteps. We wish you the best of luck and will do our best to support you,’’ the President said.

On the current economic challenges in the country, he assured Nigerians that his administration was working hard on diversification of the economy to limit the country’s over-dependence on oil over the years.

“This country has incredible mineral resources. All we need is to believe in ourselves so that we can have and leave a better Nigeria for our children and grandchildren,’’ the President said.

 

 

 

Kano small-scale rice farmers face post-harvest storage crisis

Adeola Ajakaiye, Kano

Small-scale rice farmers, who began the harvest of rice in Kano State, one of Nigeria most active agricultural belt, may experience difficulties in getting appropriate price for their commodity.

The reason is connected with challenge of insufficient storage facilities, which is pushing the farmers to sell off their product at a give-away price. Rice farmers in the state are expected to harvest over 1.2 metric tons of paddy rice between now and the end of year.

At the moment, the state can only boost of about five medium-scale rice processing plants, and some small-scale rice processing plants scattered across the 44 local government areas of the state.

At some of the farm gates situated in Kura farming community visited Tuesday, most of the farmers harvesting their pad rice were already offering them for sale to rice merchants.

Most of the farmers, who spoke on the development, attributed their action to their inability to store the harvested product on a long time.

Agricultural commodity experts are predicting that the ongoing delivery of the harvested pad rice to the open market may precipitate over supply of the commodity to the markets, which could affect it buying price.

The situation is expected to get worst as more of the smallholder farmers and large-scale producers of the commodity empowered by the Kano State government through the CBN special rice intervention programme start delivering more pad rice to the open market.

Presently, 50kg bag of price of locally processed rice, popularly known as ‘Kura Rice,’ sells for N30,000, but with the anticipated glut in the market the price may experience a downward movement soon.

Attempt made to get the views of stakeholders in the rice business in the state on the development did not succeed, as most of them refused to response to several telephone calls.