The National Economic Council (NEC) on Tuesday warned the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) and other agencies to be up and doing to keep imported poisonous food items out of Nigeria.
Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, disclosed this to State House correspondents at the end of NEC meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
He was with Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole and Adamawa State Governor, Jibrilla Bindow.
He said: “We were concerned of some of the imported goods, some of the items imports into this country in the name of food and we have cautioned seriously that SON, NAFDAC and other agencies that deal with quality of goods should do their utmost best so that rubbish is not sent into this country in the name of food.
“We realized that some of the frozen chicken and fish imports into this country are being preserved with very dangerous chemicals. So we are of the opinion that this area should be looked into.” He added
Noting that agriculture also took the center stage during the meeting, he said that the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh shared with the Council action plans and how to improve on food production in the country.
He said: “One of our major challenges now is about agriculture, taking it as a pivot in which all the wheels of economic activities must rotate if we must go out of recession. We have agreed at NEC that state governors hold partner with the federal government in this regards to ensure productivity and high yields in the agricultural sector.
“We thank God that this year because of good rains, we shall experience bumper harvest which will force the prices of food items to go down.
“We commended anchor borrowers Programme of the federal government through the CBN as a success story. Many states now have embarked on rice farming which guarantees us sufficiency in rice production in the next year. So, agriculture was very key in our resolve to come out recession quickly.
Employment for the youth, he said, would be boosted through agriculture.
On his part Oshiomhole said that the NEC is also planning to scale down housing deficits in the country.
He said: “I think you shouldn’t confuse government policy with regards to its obligation to provide official quarters to government employees. You shouldn’t confuse that with government responsibility to influence and impact on the rate to which new houses or homes are built for people to begin to access and occupy.
“It is not like when you have a legislative quarters and you become a senator, you collect the key number.
“Government recognizes for two reasons: one, we have to generate real jobs in this economy and building and housing is a key issue in any attempt to reflate the economy to create jobs and renew the prospect of economic growth.
“So, if government says we are monetizing and we are no longer going to give official quarters, government is not good in managing, that’s not the same as saying that government would fold its arms and watch more and more Nigerians become homeless.
“We have to provide cite and services so that for the people who have the means to apply for land acquire it and build their own home to their own taste. But you have to agree that there are Nigerians who are not in position to buy home.” He added
According to press briefing talking point released by the NEC secretariat, the Council endorsed Federal Government plan to shore up revenue through solid minerals sector.
To this end, NEC also approved the appointment of professional revenue consultants to achieve the goal.
It also disclosed that NEC approved incremental electric power strategy as a short term measure towards addressing current energy shortage in the country.
The talking point also revealed that the balance of the Excess Crude Account (ECA) for the month of October 2016 was $2.4 billion.
It revealed that Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, presented policy paper on plans for emergency power supply to Council.
Highlights of the presentation include:
“Government’s plan is to deliver incremental, stable, and then uninterrupted power to homes and businesses in stages
“One problem with the power sector is that, there is not enough power to go round. So government will systematically and decisively deal with the immediate task to harness incremental power from all available sources.
“DISCOS were authorised in February this year, to partner with private industry that had idle generation capacity from its captive power station, to add 400 MW of embedded generation that would otherwise have been unused or underutilized.
“DISCOS are encouraged to harness the estimated capacity of over 2,000 MW of unused/underutilized industrial/commercial generators fueled by gas, oil and diesel that can be harvested.
“Such initiatives of harnessing such capacity to serve working target consumers are now progressing towards conclusion in Port Harcourt, Benin, Kaduna, Yola, Jos, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja and Eko distribution franchises with active support of the Ministry.
“Locating generation capacity close to the consumers is an effective way to deliver incremental power to rural communities were most Nigerians live, many without any electricity supply
“President Buhari approved the rural electrification implementation strategy and plan prepared by the Ministry required for effective take-off of the rural electrification agency. Plan focuses on commercially sustainable rural electrification projects using a variety of energy sources (solar, wind, biomass, coal, LNG and natural gas liquid)
“The Ministry is encouraging, facilitating, enabling and directly investing in new power station on the grid and removal of important transmission constraints to deliver incremental power.”
The Council also noted that Tuesday was Edo State Governor’s last attendance of the NEC meeting and commended him for his service as a member in the last 8 years.
Oshiomhole also received a standing ovation from NEC members.