Gov. Ahmed Says NGF Crisis Hampering Peer Review Objectives

NGFKwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, said on Tuesday that the crisis rocking the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had stalled the realisation of the forum’s peer review objectives.

The Governor made the observation on Tuesday when he received members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Ilorin.

Ahmed, in his response to a request by the committee, stressed that states should compare notes on areas of comparative advantage.

He, however, admitted that such was not possible due to the unresolved crisis in the NGF.

“Politicisation of the forum had denied it the opportunity of a robust review of commercial agriculture development programme of the state”, he said.

The governor, however, suggested that funding windows for agriculture must take cognisance of the dynamics of commercial agriculture.

He said that the prevailing funding policies were counter-productive as they were designed to fund subsistence farming.

According to him, “it is imperative that stakeholders see commercial agriculture as a business in a manner that would ensure that the country takes advantage of its natural endowments to promote all year farming”.

Ahmed described agriculture as a singular potential that could effectively change the fortunes of the people, if properly harnessed.

He, therefore, urged the National Assembly to formulate policies that would address the issue of policy formulation, implementation and poor funding of agriculture.

Earlier, the Vice Chairman of the committee, Sen. Adegbenga Sefiu-Kaka, commended the giant stride achieved in the agriculture sector in the state, which he said, other state governments could emulate.

“We have been following events in Kwara and we are happy and impressed with what we see on ground.

“We commend you and want to urge you not to relent in your effort to turn the state to an agricultural hub.”

According to the senator, other states would surely copy Kwara in its strive to ensure food sufficiency and security in the state. (NAN)