Chief of Staff to the President, Mr Ibrahim Gambari, says the hike in prices of food items should be seen as a transient situation.

Speaking on Thursday during the national food security council meeting, held at the State House, Abuja, Mr. Gambari said the recent prices of grains show a significant decline which suggests that the decrease would soon be reflected across the country as new products are brought into the market.

Gambari said, “Yesterday, my office as the secretariat, National Food Security Council, met with the agricultural commodity association to ascertain the root causes of the recent spike in food prices and craft mitigating strategies to what could be a potential crisis.

“Although various concerns were raised on the root cause of the increase in commodity cost, we have been informed that prices are actually on the decline as new grains have been introduced to the market.

“For example, new maize which was previously sold for N25,000 per bag is now being sold between N12,000 and N17,000, and it’s expected to fall between N7,000 and N8,000 per bag by November 2020, according to the various leaders of the agricultural commodity association. The price decline has also been experienced in millet, beans, and sorghum. The hike, therefore, is to be seen as a transient situation.

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“With Mr. President being among us, as somebody who knows about farming and agriculture perhaps more than many of us in the room, we believe his presence is very instructive in addressing not just this hike and transient nature and pricing of foodstuff, but also to underscore the importance he personally and as Mr. President and his administration attaches to the issue of national food security.

“However, it is important to note that the most prevailing concern of the various leaders of the agricultural commodity association, was their demand that there should be better coordination, synergy, and cooperation across the sector. This has largely accounted for the gross misinformation and nationwide speculation which is being experienced.

“Not disregarding the impact of other value triggers such as the cyclical off-season period phenomenon, the COVID-19 pandemic, and infrastructure challenges, the importance of collaboration can still not be overemphasized.”

The diplomat said it is time that the nation pivots its attention and resources to how it can improve yield per hectare, even as key actors in the agric space are championing increased hectares under cultivation.

According to him, this new shift will be a significant boost in the government’s determination to strengthen its objective in achieving food security.

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Minister of State, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah has been commended for the many laudable initiatives that he has brought to revitalize the mining sector in order to reposition the sector as the next available revenue earner for the country after oil.

ABNTV reports that Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, who made the above remark on Friday in his State,also praised President Muhammadu Buhari for selecting the Hon. Minister to man the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, while describing Dr.Ogah
as ” one of the few in Mr President’s cabinet that has stood out.”

In the Governor words:

“Dr. Uche Ogah, my brother and friend, accept my immense sense of solidarity. Mr President should be praised for selecting someone like you to man the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. Some of us in the Forum of Governors have recognised your passion and drive to move the Mining and Steel sector to a greater height. We, Governors compare notes and take records.

“Hon. Minister, Sir, just like you did in the private sector within the shortest possible time, you have made a mark in your Ministry, and I am talking from a personal experience, having worked in that Ministry before.

” You are one of the few in Mr President’s cabinet that has stood out. I must tell you that it is well documented.

“By your pedigree and passion towards formalising the Mineral Sector policy, I so much believe that a working synergy between the FG and the State Governments in the Mining and Steel sector is achievable.

“More importantly, you surprised me by going all the way to Rishi, a hinterland community in Bauchi State, to interact with miners. That, to me, is peculiarly strange.
From records, no Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has done that in recent memory.

” It shows a leader who is in touch with his sector, and that is how it is supposed to be. You are a leader with a difference. This singular visit of yours to the hinterland has further endeared you and I to my people. We are excited.

“Let Mr President know… in fact, I will also brief him, that, this your visit is already having a huge positive effect and, because of it, the Bauchi State Government is reiterating its readiness to collaborate with the Federal Government of Nigeria to advance the Mining and Steel sector in the country”,the Governor ended.

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Speaking during the visit,the Minister had informed Governor Bala Mohammed that he was in the State to meet with various mining stakeholders to acqauint them with opportunities provided by the Buhari Administration to shore up revenue from the mining sector in order to boost the nation’s non-oil earnings, especially,in the face of the slump in oil revenues,which was occasioned by the COVID 19 pandemic.

Meanwhile,earlier on Thursday,while meeting with mining
stakeholders in Bauchi State,Dr. Ogah observed the need for peaceful co- existence between mining operators and their host communities,saying that no meaningful achievement can be made in the absence of peace. He commended the Bauchi State Chairman, Mineral Resources and Environmental Management Committee ( MIREMCO),Alh. Belloji Galoji, who had earlier ,among other demands,requested for an official driver to help to ease movement logistics, for the good work he is doing in Bauchi State and charged him to co- ordinate the renewal of expired Community Development Agreements between mining operators and host communities and to also address the attendant environmental issues arising from mining activities in the State.

Also speaking during the interactive session,Chairman, Miners Association of Nigeria, Bauchi State Chapter, Alh.Musa Pali ,who welcomed the Minister on behalf of all miners in the State, informed Dr.Ogah that the Bauchi State Governor and his Commissioner in charge of the sector were miners-friendly.

He requested the Minister to support the association in the bid of its members to realise a proposal for the establishment of a Mineral Buying Centre at the Zaranda part of the State and to improve mineral production in the State through the setting-up of an equipment support programme,while,also, soliciting the review of mining loan conditions by the Bank of Industry ( BOI).

Responding,Dr.Ogah again commended members of the Miners Association in Bauchi State for their different activities aimed at galvanising the inputs of various stakeholders in the State to make for collective progress.He charged them to ensure prompt and correct settlement of royalties based on accurate declaration of their mine outputs. He noted that the revenue derivable from mining is expected to help Government in addressing critical issues of infrastructure deficit, environmental remediation and the provision of support to improve local production.

The Minister assured them of the Ministry ‘s support in the area of issuing the necessary permits for their proposed Mineral-Buying Centre at Zaranda. He informed the miners that the Ministry is ready to support their operations with the necessary equipment, but wishes to ensure orderliness by requesting that the miners group themselves into Cooperative Societies that will make for easy administration. He explained that the loan conditions were made stringent by the Bank of Industry owing to the generally held negative perception of Nigerians about government loans.Dr. Ogah also noted that the Ministry has intervened in the conditions for obtaining such loans and that genuine miners were now accessing the loan facility.

Among those present at the stakeholders’ parley were members of Women in Mining. Nafisatu Yusuf Baba,Chair of the group,and Kabiru Santuraki,their Zonal Coordinator,who spoke on their behalf ,also, informed the Honourable Minister that they were registered as Artisinal Small Scale Mining operators and desired to be allocated a cadastral unit in each Local Government Area of the State to carry out a seamless operation. While also assuring them of support,the Minister directed the ASM Officer in Bauchi State to secure a small- scale mining lease for the group where their members operate in the State.

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The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC on Friday insisted that electricity Distribution Companies must not increase tariffs of customers enjoying less than 12 hours of power supply daily.

Mr Dafe Akpeneye, NERC Commissioner, Legal Licensing and Compliance, made the clarification during the regulatory agency’s online town hall meeting with customers on the new electricity tariff regime.

The DisCos had on September 1 announced the implementation of new Service Reflective Tariff Plan across their franchise areas.

The DisCos said the classes of customers had been categorised into five bands with bands D and E who were not enjoying 12 hours daily power supply not affected by the new tariff plan.

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However, Akpeneye, who was responding to claims by some customers that the DisCos were not adhering to the increment terms, maintained that those below 12 hours supply daily should not experience any increment.

He explained that the hours and bands were decided by the commission after consultations but customers were assigned to the bands by the DisCos.

Akpeneye said, ”Anyone who is enjoying less than 12 hours of electricity must not have their tariffs increased.

“Customers who receive electricity service below the band they have been assigned can have the DisCos move them to the actual band of electricity service they receive.

“Unhappy? Contest the band classification you have been assigned.”

He said in order to protect unmetered customers from exploitation by the DisCos, NERC came up with “Parity with Neighbours”.

“This is the principle we are applying with unmetered customers. It basically means as an unmetered customer, you cannot be charged more than your metered neighbour,” the commissioner said.

Akpeneye also disclosed that NERC had mandated all DisCos to invest in infrastructure in order to increase power supply to customers.

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Governor Okezie Ikpeazu on Friday evening, visited Umuokpo Village, Obingwa LGA to commiserate with the family of Late Onyedikachi Nwogu who was allegedly shot dead at close range by an officer of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps right in front of his compound three days ago, 8th September 2020.

The Governor who arrived the village along the Aba Ikot Ekpene Highway around 5.30 pm, straight from the Owerri airport walked into the compound of the deceased to see his wife, aged mother and children. There was also a mammoth crowd of the people of the Community. It was a very emotional atmosphere as the wife and mother, as well as other relatives of the deceased, wept and wailed.

Governor Ikpeazu who was met on arrival by the Transition Committee Chairman of Obingwa LGA, Hon. Nnaji Kingsley expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the young man who was killed for no justifiable reason and assured that the killer officer will be made to face the full wrath of the law.

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The information available from the members of the Community has it that the Civil Defence Officer, Inspector Robinson Otobong Abel attached to the Akwa Ibom State Command of the Corps was escorting an expatriate and insisted on driving through the compound of the deceased on account of the bad state of the Federal road. The deceased resisted the attempt to drive through his compound, whereupon the officer allegedly shot him at close range, killing him instantly.

The Governor commended the community members for resisting the temptation of lynching the officer.

He assured the wife of the deceased and his aged mother that his administration will not abandon them, especially the little children, whom he assured will be seen through school.

He asked the Obingwa LGA Chairman to bring the widow of the deceased, the mother and his brother to see him tomorrow for further discussions.

On his way out of the compound, the State Commissioner of Police, Mrs Janet Agbede met the Governor and thanked him for the visit, assuring that the killer officer who is in custody will be prosecuted.

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