2019: Rice farmers, fertilizer producers donate N1.77bn, support Buhari campaign

Ahead of the 2019 general elections in the country, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) and Fertilizers Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) have donated N1.77 billion to support the campaign of President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term in office. The donation was announced in Abuja during a Gala Night organized by beneficiaries of the government’s Anchor Borrowers Program which held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa. The groups said President Buhari’s unprecedented change which has empowered them changed the fortunes of the agriculture sector in Nigeria. Announcing the donation on behalf of the association, RIFAN President Aminu Goronyo said apart from the increasing progress in the sector, the president’s policies have also resulted in saving billions of naira for the country. Mr Goronyo said RIFAN has a membership of about 12.2 million and that each member will donate N100 to the campaign which translates to N1.2 billion saying that more fertilizers were made available to them easily in the last three years. “All these achievements are from your commitments and favourable policies to agriculture,” he said Similarly, president of Fertilizers Producers and Supplies Association of Nigeria, Thomas Etuh, said N120 billion was saved in two years from fertilizer subsidy, announcing that FEPSAN is contributing N570 million to the re-election bid of the president. In his remarks, President Muhammadu Buhari commended them for the gesture noting that statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) have confirmed that his administration’s policies are yielding results as he inherited “a broken system in the agriculture sector in 2015; but seeing your faces and hearing your stories give me hope, today, we are on track to achieve in all-inclusive economy”. The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele in his remarks said the anchor borrowers program launched on November 17, 2015 has resulted in the saving of $800 million saying; “import bills before the introduction of the program was high as N1.4 trillion annually which had created jobs and wealth for the teeming population”. Also, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbe said the program has moved Nigeria to the next ladder of rice production in Africa. Present at the event were the governor of Kebbi State, Atiku Bagudu who is also the Chairman of the National food Security Council, the APC leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Kogi State governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello and his Zamfara counterpart, Abdulaziz Yeri. Others are Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu and Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State. Also at the occasion were the APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha and Chief of Staff to the President, Abba kyari and others. By Tom Okpe, Abuja