Reactions from diverse stakeholders have trailed the sack of the Ministers of Agriculture, Sabo Nanono and his Power counterpart, Saleh Mamman by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday.
Some agriculture associations have expressed high expectations from the new Minister of Agriculture, Mohammed Abubukar, toward harnessing potentials of the agriculture sector.
The associations spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos after President Muhammadu Buhari sacked Alhaji Mohammed Nanono as the Minister of Agriculture.
President Buhari has redeployed the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abubakar, to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The National President of the Catfish Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAFAN), Mr Sunday Onoja, implored the new minister to harness the natural resources in the country to boost its agriculture sector.
According to him, the agriculture sector is capable of boosting the country’s internally generated revenue if properly focused on.
Onoja said there should be more commitment to the sector’s value chain in order to meet the much-needed quality agricultural products.
“We just got to know about the change of leadership of FMARD, we hope the newly-appointed minister continues with the policies of his predecessor and improves on it.
“We want the new minister to harness the natural resources we have to boost the agriculture sector, we have great water sources across each state and we need to utilise them to boost Nigerian aquaculture.
“We have under-utilised our water sources. In two years, the new minister can set up a good roadmap to harness the benefits from our fresh water sources to boost the aquaculture sector.
“If more focus is paid to the Nigerian agriculture sector, especially the aquaculture section, we will be able to double the income generated from the sector in no time,” Onoja said.
On his part, Mr Godwin Egbegbe, the Lagos State Chairman of Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), called on the new minister to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in the sector to make it responsive to any emerging challenges.
He also called on the new minister to work closely with the relevant authorities to ensure the security of farmers in their farms.
He said charged the new minister to ensure that all stakeholders, farmers and producers in the sector adopt the value chain system in order to meet the country’s much-needed quality products, export opportunities and food security.
Egbede advised the minister to sensitise farmers and other critical stakeholders on the need to key into the Nation’s Agricultural Policy to attract adequate investors and ensure food security.
“In policy decisions and to take the Nigerian agriculture sector to its apex, the new minister should interface with relevant stakeholders across all sections of the sector.
“The FMARD minister should ensure he carries along major stakeholders across all agriculture value chains in programmes for the sector, if he does this, it will move the sector forward,” he said.
Egbede, however, lamented that the recent increase in kidnapping and banditry had made a lot of farmers to abandon farming which could threaten food security.
“The minister should also influence the current administration to ensure the security of all farmers from bandits and kidnap attacks,” he said.
The All farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint a farmer to replace the immediate past Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development , Sabo Nanono.
Dr Femi Oke, Chairman, AFAN, Lagos and South-West Zone, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, on Wednesday, while reacting to the sack of the former minister.
The president had on Wednesday sacked the Minister of Agriculture, Sabo Nanono, and the Minister of Power, Mamman Sale.
President Buhari announced the minor re-shuffle at the Federal Executive Council ( FEC) meeting, saying the cabinet shake-up would be a continuous exercise.
Oke said that farmers were very delighted over the removal of the minister, as he failed to take decisive actions on issues affecting farmers.
“The former minister failed to address issues regarding food security, farmer/herders clashes and many more.
“He ignored issues affecting the sector and dabbled into issues not related to the sector. So, his removal is a plus to President Muhammadu Buhari ‘s administration. We farmers are happy with his removal.
“During his tenure, prices of food and other commodities skyrocketed. Instead of formulating policies that would bring the prices down, the minister adopted policies that were not favourable to the people”, Oke said
The AFAN chairman urged the government to appoint a real farmer, precisely from the AFAN, to oversee the ministry, as well as create an office of Special Adviser to the president on food security.
He said that the two appointments would address issues concerning food security and self-sufficiency in the country, just as only a farmer can solve the myriad challenges confronting the sector.
“When the right people are appointed, they will find lasting solutions to problems confronting the sector. We want the president to appoint a farmer to replace the immediate past minister,” he said.
POWER SECTOR
Experts in the power sector have called on the newly-appointed Minister of Power, Mr Abubakar Aliyu, to do everything possible to address the crisis in the power sector.
Sam Amadi, former Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), said that the power ministry needed someone who could manage complexities.
“I hope this new one will do better and beyond managing the sector there is need to review the roadmap and policy framework of power sector
“The power ministry is not a straight forward one; it is not like building roads; it is not like other sectors.
“This is a sector that is managing many stakeholders, managing a complex market that is difficult to grow and regulate,” he said.
According to Amadi, the ministry needs somebody who has some experience in the sector and somebody who has a history of creative thinking and strategic management.
“It is not a routine ministry to be filled with engineers.
On his part, Mr Dimeji Macaulay, a Human Rights Activist, said that the power sector needed a new minister that could look deeply into the crisis in the sector.
He said, “this isn’t the first time that a minister of power will be sacked. But as things stand the crisis in power sector needs a new minister.
“I will also propose that the new minister should reverse the privatisation of power sector. The privatisation has failed.
“So far, the privatisation of the power sector has been major reason that the crisis remains unsolved.
“The Distribution Companies (DisCos) and Generation Companies (GENCOS) licences should be revoked.
“So, we join Nigerians to demand for renationalisation of the sector under democratic control and management and should include elected representatives of electricity consumers in different communities and workers in the electricity sector.
NAN reports that President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday relieved two ministers of their appointments.
The affected former appointees were the former Minister of Agriculture, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, and his Power counterpart, Saleh Mamman.
The Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity), Femi Adesina, confirmed the former appointees’ removal on Wednesday in Abuja.
He said the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abubakar, was redeployed to the Ministry of Agriculture while the Minister of State for Works, Abubakar Aliyu would take over as Minister of Power.
ELECTRICITY CONSUMER GROUPS
Electricity consumer groups on Wednesday advised the new Minister of Power, Mr Abubakar Aliyu, to ensure that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission ( NERC) adequately performs its statutory responsibilities in the power sector.
They blamed the inability of NERC to properly regulate the sector across the value chain for the incessant collapse of the national grid and low supply of power to Nigerians by Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos).
The groups, the Energy Consumer Rights and Responsibilities Initiative (ECRRI) and All Electricity Consumers Protection Forum (AECPF), made their views known in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
Mr Adeola Samuel-Ilori, National Coordinator, AECPF, noted that the power sector was critical to the nation’s economy and national development.
He said the sector, despite its privatisation, had failed to yield the desired results due to regulatory lapses by NERC.
Samuel-Ilori said: “The new minister should ensure that NERC carries out its statutory responsibilities in the sector.
“The way it has been is that the DisCos are not afraid of NERC and keep flouting its orders, including the Order on Capping of Estimated Billing by unmetered customers.
“We believe that a very efficient NERC can make the industry better both for electricity consumers and players across the value chain.”
He also advised the new minister to emulate Mr Babatunde Fashola who headed the Ministry between 2015 and 2019.
“Having worked with Fashola at the Ministry of Works and Housing, I am sure he must have learnt one or two things which he can bring to the power sector to solve some of its challenges, ” he said.
Also, Mr Surai Fadairo, National President, ECRRI, said the minister should be firm on NERC and oversee the regulatory agency to protect the interest of consumers.
“We have been having conflicting directives from NERC, which is not good enough, and the DisCos are capitalising on that to exploit electricity customers.
“We still have arbitrary estimated billing of customers which ought to have ended with the NERC order but it is not being implemented by the DisCos.
“So, I think this should be his major focus,” he said.
