Food Crisis: State governors to receive 60 trucks of fertiliser each – Akpabio

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said there is an ongoing plan to distribute about 60 fertiliser trucks to each state through the governors before the weekend.

Serving senators will also receive two trucks of fertiliser each. In contrast, members of the House of Representatives will receive one each from the distribution to address the impending food insecurity in the country.

Mr Akpabio disclosed this during the plenary on Tuesday.

He was commenting on a motion sponsored by Sunday Karimi (Kogi West) on urgently addressing the country’s impending food insecurity.

“All states of the federation are being provided with 60 trucks of fertiliser outside what is being given to the senators,” Mr Akpabio said.

After disclosing the plan, the senate president said he got the information from the chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Saliu Mustapha,

He urged the media to quote Mr Mustapha instead.

Mr Akpabio also clarified that he was not attacking the governors but only relaying the information he got from the committee.

He explained that senators and House of Representatives members are also receiving from the distribution because some lawmakers are in different parties than their governors, which may generate a crisis between them.

“I don’t want tomorrow the governors will come and tell me that I made a statement, and this is through their governors irrespective of political parties. They like misquoting me; they will say Akpabio again.

“This is from the Senate Committee Chairman on Agriculture, not from Senator Akpabio, that irrespective of political party, each state’s governors will get at least 60 trucks, and the reason they are giving the senators two trucks is because some of the senators and the House of Rep members are not in the same party.

“For some of you, it is important that you also have something to share with your constituents. Your own will be two trucks -1,200 (bags of fertilisers), and the House of Reps members will be one truck – 600 (bags of fertilisers).

“This information is from the Senate Committee on Agriculture chairman and then backed up by the deputy senate president. This information is not from the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“So, I don’t want tomorrow that I will see headlines that governors blast Akpabio. I have not said anything about governors; I have only re-echoed the word of chairman on agriculture. I have said nothing against governors.

“Gentlemen of the press in the gallery, it is not Senator Godswill Akpabio that gave this information. I am re-echoing the voices of the chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and the deputy senate president that irrespective of political parties, all the states through their governors are getting 60 trucks, the senators are getting two trucks, and the House of Representatives is getting one” Mr Akpabi said.

Delay in distribution

Speaking on the issue, Mr Mustapha said the trucks ought to have arrived in the states earlier but were delayed because of the advice from the Office of the National Security Adviser.

“It is unfortunate that the fertiliser distribution had to be delayed but I have at every point in time briefed the senate president on the current status of what has been happening.

“We had glitches from the NSA’s office. They stopped every truck of fertiliser from moving out because of the security implications. They had to certify clearly before they would allow the trucks to move out, and as of today, I just showed the senate president the trucks are being loaded; they will be moved to various states,” he said.

Mr Mustapha assured that most states will receive the trucks this weekend.

“I want us to exercise patience by the weekend. I am sure everybody or most people will have received their supplies, please.”

Excessive rainfall, oil spills, insecurity and other environmental degradation have worsened the food situation.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how excessive rainfall is washing popular Nigerian rice varieties off the local menu. This paper also reported how oil spills from vandalised pipelines destroy farmlands, leading to food scarcity.