President’s Mandate Is To Diversify The Economy – SSA To President Tinubu
BY PHILIP JEREMIAH EKE, YENAGOA
In a bid to diversify the national economy and look beyond oil and gas, President Bola Tinubu says the agenda of food security is key in his administration.
The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement, South – South, Mrs, Gift Johnbull who represented the President in a one day sensitization workshop on domestication of the National Women Economy Empowerment (WEE) policy and laughing of Project Earn From the Soil in the South-South region, said the era of depending on one source of income, the ” black gold” is over.
“The initiative is to engage the women of the South – South region to go back to the farms to produce food that will feed themselves and also feed the entire West Africa countries”.
The SSA explained that Mr President is not leaving anyone behind, hence the reason he created the office of Community Engagement to take the initiative across the six states of the region and the 123 local government areas.
She said the launching of the project would be done in the state capitals before taking down to their various LGA’s, where the women would be grouped into cooperative societies
“This is to ensure a better structure and organizations that will reach the people of the grassroots to develop their agriculture business.
“We have registered ten Co-operative societies in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State Capital and by the end of August, 2024 we believe, we can register up to 500 co-operatives”, Mrs Johnbull stated.
She said the food value chain of commodities are cassava, maize, rice, cocoa. Oil palm and aqua-culture and urged all the women to key into the project and ensure there is food and money in the land.
Also speaking, the Special Assistant to the President on Information and Communication Technology, (ICT) Development and Digital Innovation, Hon Tokoni Igoin, described the role of ICT Development in agricultural industry as, enormous adding that you can go into the global market without the ICT.
According to Hon Igoni at the presidency they made it open for small businesses and small farmers and training them on digital marketing were they can advertise their products generally both in Nigeria and aboard.
Hon. Igoin urged the women to take this opportunity seriously because this programme would have been slated in another state, but to the glory of God they brought it to Bayelsa State and engage the women to key in for a better tomorrow.
He said they will come up with enough sensitization programme both the localy and globally.
