Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike of Rivers State has accused the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, of introducing politics into its agricultural loan policy, thereby, denying the state access to the facilities.
Governor Wike made the accusation when he hosted the Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mustapha Baba Shehuri, at the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Monday.
The governor decried the situation where every issue in the country including agriculture had been allegedly politicised instead of implementing such policy dispassionately to achieve the intended food security and jobs for the youths.
The governor stated: “I think I am one of those States that nobody gives loans for agriculture. I don’t know what hatred the Central Bank Governor has for us? We do not know.
“We have been hearing of ANCHOR borrower this and ANCHOR that. But when it concerns Rivers State, you will hear a lot of things,” the governor complained.
Governor Wike explained that in an idle situation devoid of politics, the Central Bank of Nigeria would partner with the Rivers State government to achieve the objectives of setting up the State-owned cassava processing plant.
“Please tell the Governor of Central Bank to remember us too, that we are part of Nigeria. When we applied, they said this loan was N5 billion. We have applied for more than one year now. They said we should bring this and bring that.
“They said we should bring the corporative societies and I say this where the politics come from. If I want to eat government money, I can sit here and write corporative societies. The previous administration took a loan and said they gave them to corporative societies of over N3billion. Who are these corporative societies? And the money went off like that.
“And we are telling you to see the cassava processing plant that you are supposed to say we will buy into this, we will support the state government. Nothing has happened.”
Governor Wike said even without the loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria, his administration was achieving a revolution in cassava processing that would create jobs for youths and enduring patronage for farmer folks.
“It is not in dispute that to take the country out of where we are, agriculture is key. If we are sincere with the reality that agriculture will employ a lot of our youths; give them jobs and achieve food security, then we must do it in such a way that we really mean what we say,” he said.
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The governor said the state government would invite the Minister of Agriculture to commission the cassava processing plant. According to him, many companies had keyed in already to buy off what would be processed.
“We have over 3,000 farmers who have registered. From them, the company will buy off all their produce. We are happy with this feat,” Wike said.
Speaking further, Governor Wike expressed surprise over the road projects and provision of solar-powered electricity that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture claimed to have provided to rural communities in the state.
He said it was important for the State government to know where those rural roads and solar power were located so that proper recording would be done and a letter of appreciation written to thank the Federal Ministry of Agriculture for the gesture.
“I am also surprised when you said you’ve done rural roads in Rivers State. I don’t know the roads you did. It is important for us to know them so that we will put it on record, that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture did this road.
“And we will be able to write to you and thank you for doing such road. If you put solar, let us also know. Except you gave it to your party people. There is no way you will do the road in my state without the state government’s awareness,” he said.
Governor Wike also wondered what had become the spate of the abduction of children in succession and shortly afterward, they were released.
“I saw breaking news, another banditry in Kaduna and taking away students and teachers. The thing is becoming funny. Yesterday, you take 300, two days after, they release them. The next morning, you take another one, the next 24 hours, they’re released.
“So, people know where they are. You take two hundred and something people in a 20 kilometres distance and nobody will know? And in the next 24 hours, they’ve been released. What’s really happening?
“Can somebody tell us the truth of what’s going on? It is becoming funny. And why is it so? It is so because we politicise the issue of security,” Wike stated.
Speaking, Minister of State for Agriculture, and Rural Development, Mustapha Baba Shehuri, said he was in the State to inspect ongoing and completed projects that would boost rural agricultural activities under his ministry.
He said the federal government was poised to support Rivers farmers with new technology that would address the problems of low yields, allow them to have access to improved varieties of cassava produce, chemical for treatment for the seeds and crops protection.
