As the leadership crisis rocking the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) continue to generate reactions, the embattled President of the Association, Mr Kabir Ibrahim, says he remains the president of the association, debunking report that he had resigned.
Kabir addressing the press in Abuja on Friday, said it is unconstitutional for its Board of Trustee Chairman, Admiral Murtala Nyako to constitute a 13-member caretaker committee to spear head activities of the association saying it was the duty of elected state chairmen to elect the National President and other principal officers of the association.
Reports say about 6-state chairmen approached the BOT Chairman accusing the current executive of misappropriation of funds, not holding general congresses NEC meeting. It was on this premise they asked the former governor to dissolve the current executive and constitute a new one, to which their request was granted.
But Ibrahim debunked the allegations insisting that they had not done the general assembly due to lack of funds as it takes a lot of money to organize such meetings.
He also said he has put in motion for the association to have new executive officers after the conduct of state elections.
Also speaking on the global hike in price of crude oil, Ibrahim urged the federal government to open more windows’ for farmers to increase the nation’s food production index.
A recent report by one of the leading professional services firms, PwC, disclosed that feeding Nigeria’s current and future population is a critical challenge.
According to the report, with sustained growth rate of 2.7 per cent annually and fertility rate of 36.9 births per 1,000 people, Nigeria’s population will continue to increase in the foreseeable future. However, as Nigeria’s population continues to grow, it is becoming increasingly challenging for food supply to meet demand.
Kabir speaking on the ripple effect of crash in the crude oil price oil on food production said, “Since Nigeria economy depend on oil We are definitely going to be affected by what happen to oil, but with country’s focus on agriculture,
He said the country would be one of the worst hit from the hike in crude oil price given its dependence on oil, hence the need for government t do more than it is doing to boost food production.
He said “We urge government to do much more than is being done, open more windows for farmers to produce more so that we will be able to produce more to feed teaming population”
According to him it will be catastrophic for government to allow anything to be imported as it will pose serious challenge to the economy given the increase in foreign exchange.
He said “We must produce what we eat and eat what we produce. That is the only way to mitigate the looming problem in Nigeria”.
