The Kogi State Economic Council under the chairmanship of the state governor, Yahaya Bello, has entered into an agreement with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the state to be included among states earmarked for special intervention funds for palm oil production.
The scheme which is being championed by the CBN will see the President Muhammadu Buhari administration provide special funds for farmers in the benefiting states for massive palm produce. Apart from the funds being made available to clusters of farmers, the scheme will also provide improved seedlings to farmers as Nigeria aims to reverse the high importation of palm oil for the production of soap and other chemicals.
A statement by director general of Media and Publicity to the governor, Fanwo Kingsley, noted that the deal, which is to include Kogi State was struck when Governor Bello led a high-powered delegation of the State Economic Team to meet with the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, at the CBN headquarters in Abuja. Also in the delegation was the commissioner for Finance who doubles as the alternate chairman of the State Economic Team, Asiwaju Idris Asiru.
Speaking to journalists after the session, Governor Bello said he was excited by the prospect of making the state the leading producer of palm oil in Nigeria. He noted: “Kogi has a comparative advantage to become a major palm oil producer in Nigeria. We have been doing that across the state from the west to the central and to the eastern flank of the state. With this, my administration will galvanize thousands of young and old farmers to produce palm oil massively with improved seedlings and better funding. What happened today is what we stand for as a government.
To project our state and position her to benefit from national schemes as the Food Headquarters of Nigeria. We are going back home to put in place structures that will make the programme a huge success and of benefit to our people who have been looking forward to a massive opportunity like this”.
