Rivers Civil Society Organizations condemn Governor Wike’s refusal to invest in Agricultural sector

*Invest in Agriculture and curd insecurity in the state  caused by unemployment.

BY IBRAHIM BAKARE

The Rivers Civil Society Organizations, which is a Coalition of Civil Societies has condemned the continuous lack of investment in the agricultural sector by the Rivers State Government since inception 2015 despite Billions of Naira in yearly annual budget.

The Civil Society group pointed out that despite budgetary allocation of N40 billion in  2020, and later reviewed downwards to N16 billion naira because of the effect of COVID19 on the economy but no tangible investment has been made in that key sector of the Economy curb huge unemployment in the state.

Governor Wike

The group advised Governor Wike not to spend billions of naira to build or renovate the Assembly quarters for Law makers in the State and neglect invest in Agriculture.

 The Civil Society Organizations said its condemnation  became imperative because the Governor Nyesom Wike led Rivers State government has abandoned Agricultural programmes of his predecessors.

In press statement made available to our Correspondent and endorsed by Comrade Enefaa Georgewill,Chairman,Rivers Civil Society Organizations, the group his accused the administration of neither improving the Agricultural policies of the previous administration or create a new program since it’s inception in 2015.

RIVCSO l reiterated over the years, the it has been calling on the Rivers State Government to make heavy investment in the Agricultural sector to ensure food security and employment generation. 

“This state has been scored very poorly on the unemployment survey carried out by the National Bureau of Statistics,NBC. For keen observers like us, the unemployment index didn’t come to us as a surprise. The Cassava Processing Company is more of a programme sponsored by Shell and shouldn’t be ascribed as an investment of the Rivers State Government.

The group reminded Governor Wike that  in the”Throughout the World, Agriculture and it’s allied businesses are the major employer of labour. Experts in the sector have severally argued that a well thought out Agricultural programme can absorb over one million citizens in Rivers State”. 

RIVCSO  demands that government should be more prudent on it’s Agricultural spending in the 2021 budget year to get the army of employed youths to be gainfully engaged and reduce the rate of insecurity in the State because there is a nexus between unemployment and insecurity.   

The foremost CSO coalition in Rivers State,Rivers Civil Society Organizations  also call on the Rivers State Government to fix dilapidated section of the Ministry of Agriculture in particular.

Nyesom Wike’s administration was also called up on to fix the dilapidated Rivers State the Secretariat that  the Elevator and all the utilities like plumbing, electricity have all collapsed subject workers to be working under extremely harsh conditions.