President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is very passionate about reducing the cost of fertilizers for Nigerian farmers in the overall interest of achieving food security in the country, Vice President Kashim Shettima has said.
Shettima made the statement today Tuesday at a Fertilizers Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) stakeholders’ meeting with the Federal Government, on the 33,000 metric tonnes of Potash donated to the Federal Government by Russia’s Uralchem Group and UN Partners, in his office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to the Vice President “our goal is to serve the Nigerian people. President Tinubu is very passionate about reducing the cost of fertilizers for the Nigerian public.”
Continuing, he said “no strings attached, no vested interest and the President will be happy if the price of fertilizers collapses by 50 percent after this exercise”, VP emphasized.
Shettima disclosed that President Tinubu gives high premium to achieving the agenda of food security in the country, noting that this accounts for the declaration of state of emergency in food security sector by the Tinubu administration last July.
Stressing that though “we have many challenges with food security in the country, we are however very lucky because the President is very empathetic and very passionate about achieving food sufficiency in the country.”
Speaking to Stakeholders at the meeting which includes the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Sen Abubakar Kyari and Minister of State for Agriculture, Sen. Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, the Vice President expressed the seriousness attached to the donation and distribution of the potash from Uralchem Group.
He charged stakeholders that “there has to be transparency, equity and fairness in the distribution exercise for the reason that the end beneficiaries are the Nigerian farmers and their leadership is seated here.”
The Vice President assured stakeholders “that there will be transparency, there will be full disclosure and we are going to use our own blenders and the beneficiaries have to be the Nigerian people.”
On the entire exercise, Vice President Shettima disclosed further that the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), World Food Programme (WFP) and AFEX, a commodity Exchange firm have the data base and other requirements that will assist the Federal Government in reaching out to the farmers in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security driving the process.
It would be recalled that at the last Russia-Africa Summit held in St. Petersburg Russia last July, the Federal Government delegation met with the leadership of Uralchem Group and WFP over the donation of a consignment of 33,000 metric tonnes of potash.
In attendance at the Stakeholders’ meeting were the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Ernest Umakhihe; Director General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Ahmed; President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria, Arc. Kabir Ibrahim; President, Fertilisers Producers And Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN), Sadiq Kassim; the Country Director of World Food Programme, Kucro Jawed and representatives of National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and Associated Foreign Exchange (AFEX).
Olusola Abiola
Director Information
Office of the Vice President
29th August, 2023
