Stop destroying oil pipelines, Buhari pleads with militants
President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed
to the people of the Niger Delta to embrace peace and focus on
agriculture for sustainable economic development and wealth creation.
Buhari urged them to take advantage of
the huge potential in agriculture and stop the destruction of oil and
gas pipelines which only served to destroy the country’s ecosystem and
economy.
The President, represented by the
Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Senator
Heineken Lokpobiri, made the appeal on Saturday at the 20th anniversary
of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company’s Green River Project Farmers’ Day in
Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
Buhari said, “I wish to acknowledge the
unrelenting efforts of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company, which, in its bid
to prove that oil production and agriculture can coexist, has for the
past 29 years supported its host communities to focus on agriculture
through the GRP, a corporate social responsibility initiative, which
has resulted in sustainable development in these communities.
“I appeal to the people of the Niger
Delta region to embrace peace and focus on agriculture for sustainable
economic development and wealth creation.
“I urge you to take advantage of the
huge potential in agriculture and stop the destruction of oil and gas
pipelines, which only serve to destroy our ecosystem and economy.
“The present administration is committed
to doing everything possible to support the people of the Niger Delta
to achieve their potential in agriculture, which is far more than its
endowments in oil and gas.”
The occasion, with the theme,
‘Sustainable Farming for Sustainability’, had in attendance
representatives of governors of Bayelsa, Rivers, Delta and Imo states;
Chairman, Agip, Mr. U. Carrara; and the Vice Chairman and Managing
Director, Agip, Massimo Insulla.
Others are General Manager, District,
Marco Rotondi; former military Governor of the old Rivers State, Alfred
Diete-Spiff; Vice-Chancellor, Niger Delta University, Prof. Humphrey
Ogoni; and a leader of the Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, Mr. Elvis
Donkemezuo, among others.
Buhari said the focus of his
administration was to redirect attention to agriculture and empower
Nigerians in a productive and sustainable manner.
He said the process entailed treating
agriculture as a business to create wealth and provide employment and
take the country from being an import-dependent country to a
self-sufficient nation with surplus for export to earn foreign exchange.
The President noted that Nigeria spent an average of $22bn annually on wheat, rice, sugar and fish importation.
Buhari said Nigeria had an estimated 84
million hectares of arable land with an estimated 10 per cent only being
optimally utilised.
He said there was an abundance of land
available for cultivation to meet the demand of about 170 million
consumers in the domestic market and the entire West African sub-region.
The President noted that Agip, as part
of its GRP, was supporting some farmers with processing facilities such
as cassava, rice and oil palm mills, noting that they were significant
as post-harvest losses were estimated to be about $9bn annually.
He said the Ministry of Agriculture and
Rural Development was also procuring sundry processing equipment for
farmers across the country.
The President encouraged the host states to collaborate with the ministry to make agriculture a key business in Nigeria.
He stressed that the development would
curb youths’ restiveness, protect the ecosystem, promote peace and
investments and increase revenues in the states.
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