Stanley Nkwazema and Damilola Oyedele
17 April 2008
Abuja — The House of Representatives yesterday resolved to summon the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr Sayyad Abba Ruma, to find out the long and short term plans being put in place by the Federal Government to tackle the imminent food crisis.
Also yesterday, the United States promised to assist Nigeria's bid to ensure food security especially in the area of rice production.
House Minority Leader, Hon. Mohammed Ali Ndume, who had on Tuesday raised the issue under matters of Urgent National Importance, again moved the motion yesterday after it was formally listed for debate.
Ndume, who represents Damboa/Gwoza Federal Constituency of Borno State, noted that the astronomical rise in prices of food items had become a source of worry to the country even as countries such as the United states of America had made available $200 million to assist other countries tackle the issue.
The Minority leader noted that Nigeria, bordered by several poverty-ridden countries, would be worst hit if urgent measures were not taken to solve the problem.
He regretted that the cost price of a bag of rice had risen above the minimum wage of the Nigerian worker.
Ndume, who noted that Nigeria's supply source was depleting, explained that "members may be interested to note that we have the potential of producing only 500,000 metric tones of rice while the actual annual demand is 2.3 million metric tonnes.
"Our supply source is depleting and the earlier we tackle it the better. The Federal Government is taking a long term and we need a short term measure. The World Bank is ready to assist us and other countries and they have already started assistance," he said.
The minority leader, however, noted the "concern about the continuous rise in the price of food generally (e.g. rice, flour, sugar, millet, corn, sorghum etc) sometimes up to 100%.The food scarcity and related increase is not only restricted to Nigeria but includes other developing countries."
He observed that the recent food riots and social unrest in developing countries such as Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Madagascar, the Philippines, Republic of Niger were triggered by hunger and frustration of the citizenry's inability to afford the prices of staple food items.
Ndume therefore urged the Federal Government to submit a Supplementary Appropriation Bill for the purchase of more food to support the strategic food reserve of the country.
Ndume also said government should direct the Nigeria Customs Service to waive import duties on basic /essential food items and that relevant government agencies should be encouraged to embark on the importation of basic essential food items.
But when the motion was put to question, the House thrashed the first two, the third prayer amended prayers three to include urging the minister to appear before the House to submit all programmes for a short and long-term measures to tackle the crisis.
Also yesterday, the House resolved to liaise with the National Security Adviser, Major-General Sarki Mukhtar (rtd), to find out what had happened to the $15 million released by the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, directed to be made available as counterpart funding for the drilling of the gas underneath of Lake Nyos so as to avoid an imminent disaster.
Meanwhile the US government launched a N33 million Rice Milling Plant under the National Poverty Alleviation Programme (NAPEP)'s Village in Economic Development Solution and Conditional Cash Transfer (COPE) Micro-Credit project in Kiyi Village Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. At the launch yesterday, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms. Robin Renee Sanders, who made the commitment on behalf of the US government said the aid was timely in view of the recent rise in price of rice. Sanders also noted that the project should represent democracy, transparency, education and empowerment of the Nigerian people, adding that poverty was really a state of mind and not a state of being.Hon. Chuma Nzeribe, former chairman of House Committee on Disaster Management, had called for the amendment of the prayers on the motion brought by Hon. Chile Igbawua and 56 others, on the imminent eruption of Lake Nyos.
While moving for the amendment, Nzeribe alerted the House that the Second National Assembly of the Fourth Republic had in November 2005, passed a resolution on Lake Nyos.He stated that his committee had during the period after the motion was brought on the floor of the House by Hon. Terngu Tsegba, visited the areas and countries bordering the mountain, after which a report by Dutch experts was submitted to the Presidency.
Nzeribe reminded his colleagues that based on the report of the experts that suggested that the gas underneath the mountain be drilled horizontally, Nigeria contributed $15 million as counterpart funding for the project and the then NSA was asked to make the money available.
The House after his update on the matter therefore threw out the three prayers of the movers of the motion and mandated the House Committee on Disaster Management to liaise with the NSA and find out what had happened to the fund.
Igbawua had noted the imminent explosion of Lake Nyos portended disastrous consequences for Nigeria especially the states of Benue, Taraba, Cross River Nassarawa and Kogi.. Meanwhile the US government launched a N33 million Rice Milling Plant under the National Poverty Alleviation Programme (NAPEP)'s Village in Economic Development Solution and Conditional Cash Transfer (COPE) Micro-Credit project in Kiyi Village Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
At the launch yesterday, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms. Robin Renee Sanders, who made the commitment on behalf of the US government said the aid was timely in view of the recent rise in price of rice.
Sanders also noted that the project should represent democracy, transparency, education and empowerment of the Nigerian people, adding that poverty was really a state of mind and not a state of being.
"The cost of rice is increasing and my government is very much in the forefront for Africa with the risk to announce its contribution to the food security issue for Africa, particularly in rice production. Public private partnership has made it possible for us to be here today.
"We have worked with NAPEP, intimating them to a very dynamic non-governmental partnership in United States. I think that what you are doing is very essential. You are at the fore-front of innovation to eradicate poverty at the village level; you are micro-counsellor of the future of Nigeria," she said.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President and National Coordinator of NAPEP, Dr. Magnus Kpakol, said the present administration was bent on eradicating poverty among Nigerians and he called for a general commitment to the improvement of the Nigerian economy.
He commended the U.S government for supporting the project, adding that Nigeria had always received support of the U.S. in its developmental projects.
The NAPEP boss, who pledged that his organisation would see to the successful implementation of the project, also encouraged the community to help by being transparent in the implementation of the project.
10 villagers from Kiyi benefited from the first phase of basic income guarantee of N5, 000 monthly allowances and N7, 000 bank deposits each for 12 months.
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http://www.nyos.lv/
The report of the Dutch experts is based on the erroneous pictures of mechanism of catastrophe on the lake of Nyos in 1986. A consequence of realization of suggestions of experts will be a catastrophe, more threatening as compared to a catastrophe 1986.