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Nigeria: No Hunger in Country, Says Ex Agric Minister
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This Day (Lagos)
23 July 2008
Posted to the web 23 July 2008
Sufuyan Ojeifo
Abuja
Minister of Agriculture in the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Alhaji Adamu Bello, has dismissed claim that Nigeria was facing food crisis, saying the country was blessed and not among "hunger nations."
Food Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) recently classified some countries as 'hunger nations'.
Bello, who said he took responsibility for all the actions and inactions of the Ministry of Agriculture under the Obasanjo government, added that Nigeria was not faced with food crisis.
According to him, the performance of Nigerian agriculture is relative to the West African sub-region and globally in terms of what you have just said - hunger in the land -Nigeria happens not to be among countries that have recorded hunger in the way you are talking about.
"I have the global hunger map, which I will pass on to chairman of this committee to show you what Nigerian situation is. The map gives details about countries which are hungry and by what percentage they are hungry. This is produced by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. Nigeria is not in that category. But the incidence of hunger in Nigeria is under nine per cent.
"Globally, about 850 million people go hungry every blessed day. In terms of malnourishment, it is much higher, not hunger as such. The details were produced by the FAO," he said.
Bello also said the Federal Government spent N25 billion on fertiliser procurement for the eight years Obasanjo was in charge.
He spoke yesterday when he testified before the Senate Ad Hoc Committee probing the Nigerian food crisis and investments in the agricultural sector from 1999 to date.
Bello disagreed with the incumbent Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Dr Sayyadi Abba Ruma, on the existence of a fertiliser cartel, which he announced Wednesday last week, when he appeared before the Committee.
He said the claim "was nonsensical and annoying," adding that while he was in office, 65 companies were awarded contracts for fertiliser procurement, as against three companies that got the contract under his successor.
The Committee Chairman, Senator Idris Umar, called him to order on his use of language.
Bello promptly apologised, saying he was angry because his successor was not being fair to him.
He said his understanding was that 65 companies could not have been described as a cartel, pointing out that the three companies which got the entire fertiliser contracts under Ruma could be the cartel.
He said the three companies - Tak Continental Limited, Golden Fertilizer Company and Federal Super Phosphate Fertilizer Company of Nigeria - got contracts in 2006 and 2007 to procure and supply fertiliser.
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He told the committee that throughout the Obasanjo administration, "inclusive of the 2007 aborted procurement where the result was only 55 per cent, the Federal Government did not spend more than N25 billion, which was the total expenditure on fertiliser procurement. "Sometimes, you hear all sorts of things - that Obasanjo spent N600 billion on fertiliser in his eight years. What the Federal Government spent was N25 billion only. I sometimes feel ashamed to say so. It should be much, much higher; but what do you do?"
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