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With the closure of International borders over importation of foreign made rice and other food products, Rivers state Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has remained adamant over the excruciating cost of rice in the market. Earlier in his first tenure in office in 2015 to May 29th, 2019 most of the existing agricultural projects instituted by his predecessor Rt. Honourable Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and ex-Governor Peter Odili were all put into the dustbins as the multi-Billion naira Tai Banana Farm was openly set ablaze by unknown persons. The well managed Rivers state Songhai Farm also located at Tai Local Government Area of Rivers state that also boosted tourism went comatose. The much funded Buguma Fish Farm, run by Israeli partners and Ubima Fish Farm were all destroyed while the executive governor Ezenwo Wike watch without alternative provision for jobs and nutrients provision for its citizens.
Even the much responsible government ran by ex-Governor Dr. Peter Odili and continued by his predecessor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Rivers state government engaged into purchase of grains and stored them into silos for preservation and get such released into the open market at times when there is hunger and scarcity of major food products in the state where a bag of 50 kilogram of polished rice from abroad sells for over twenty six thousand naira, N26, 000.00 and locally produced unpolished per-boiled 50kilogram rice sells for Eighteen thousand and Five Hundred naira N18, 500.00. Fish products are on the high rise in terms of cost and where poverty rate index in Nigeria is very high with over 90 million of Nigerians living below poverty base lines.
The 13 per
cent Derivation fund allocation principle from Federal Government in Crude oil
production and 13 percent derivations fund principle from Gas production has
denied local host communities to most of international and indigenous oil and
gas exploration and exploitation companies not doing much to lift their host
communities above from poverty lines. Majority of such host communities lack
basic social amenities such as portable drinking water, affordable toilets as
they engage in open defecation thereby polluting the only sources of water such
as rivers and streams. Etche Rubber plantation is in extinction and arable
expanse land of Etche abandoned by subsistence farmers due to kidnapping and
cult related shootings in the various communities in Etche, Ogoni, Abua/Odual,
Ahoada east ans ahoada west, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni; Emohua; Andoni Fishing coastal
communities; Buguma; Akuku Toru and Oyigbo all are having one story to tell
about how the arable farm land have been abandoned over insecurity
In the second term administration of Governor Peter Odili there were subsidized maize and Rice especially staple food produce for the people of Rivers state.
Lagos state and Kebbi state governments are owners of joint Rice produce known as LAKE RICE and today major markets in the two states are flooded with such LAKE rice made in Nigeria thereby reducing the cost of rice in the two states of the federation. Is Governor Wike funding his Counterpart IFAD agricultural funds for improved local farming and food produce and encouraging donor agencies to actively join in securing nutrition in the state?