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Lagos Lawmakers Seek Collaboration To End Food Insecurity

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-as council chairman wants subsidy on agric products

Lawmakers of the Lagos State House of Assembly on Friday held simultaneous stakeholders’ meetings with their constituents with renewed commitments to boost food security and sufficiency in the state.

They also called for collaboration by the stakeholders to end food insecurity.

Speaking in his Agege Constituency 1, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, identified food insecurity as a multi-faceted challenge requiring the efforts of the government and the people to resolve.

This year’s stakeholders’ meeting is the ninth in the series and has the theme: ‘Ensuring Food Security for Sustainable Future: Youth Participation and Home-Grown Farming’.

Dr. Obasa said the Lagos Assembly was committed to ensuring food security in line with the United Nation’s sustainable
development goals of eradication of poverty.

“We at the Lagos State House of Assembly are committed to making Lagos an producing state and not just a consuming state in the agriculture value chain to tackle the present-day reality of food insufficiency.

“Our commitment is exemplified through transformational laws and policy supervision in the agricultural sector,” he said noting that with the collaboration of the Assembly, the government of the state has made giant strides in the agriculture sector.

He listed some of the agricultural initiatives to include the setting up of the 34-hectare Ikorodu Fish
Farm Estate which has the capacity to produce and
process 10,000 tons of fish per year partnering
with 400 fish farmers in the State

He mentioned the AGRIC-YES
programme and “the Oke-Aro and Gberigbe Pig Farm Estates that currently partners with 1,200 farmers and have the capacity of housing and processing 88,000 mature pigs per annum.

“It is important to reiterate that, on our part as lawmakers, we have also created an enabling
environment for farming activities to thrive in the state,
particularly through the passage of anti-open grazing of livestock Law in September, 2021.”

He said to achieve food sufficiency, farming capacity needs to be widened while residents should consider animal husbandry.

In his opening remarks, the chairman of Agege Local Government Area, Ganiyu Egunjobi, identified insecurity and non-availability of low interest loan for the youth population as responsible for the food crisis.

“This meeting cannot come at a better time. The problem responsible for the food shortage are many among which are insecurity that has prevented many farmers from accessing their farms. Farming in Nigeria is no longer attractive to the teeming youths.

“I want to suggest to the government at all levels to subsidise farming and also give loans at very low interest to farmers. The government should also improve on existing physical infrastructures in farming communities that would discourage urban migration and encourage youths to embrace farming. Farming and youth unemployment are recurring issues which require multidimensional interventions to tackle,” he said.

The keynote speaker, Dr. Akinyemi Olusegun of the Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, urged the youths and residents in the state to engage in urban farming.

“In Lagos, we are more than 22 million and as a result we have a huge need for food. People want to eat and engage in food business,” he said urging youths to focus on home-grown farming.

Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly

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Abia 2031: Competence Will Dictate My Successor, Says Governor Otti

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Abia 2031: Competence Will Dictate My Successor, Says Governor Otti—-Gov. Alex Otti of Abia says he will neither be a godfather nor impose his successor on the state after serving his second tenure in 2031.
Otti spoke on Thursday in Umuahia, while receiving a former Social Democratic Party Gubernatorial Candidate, Mrs Ngozi Johnson-Chukwunenye, and her supporters into the Labour Party (LP).
He said that leadership succession should be based on identifying the most suitable person for the job, rather than perpetuating a “sit-tight” culture.
He said that the person who would succeed him would be better equipped to provide quality leadership to the people.
Otti said: “The most important thing you can give a people is good governance.
“And once people test good governance, it will be very difficult for them to allow you to take them back.
“So, if you are afraid that we will go back to Egypt, it will never happen and what I can assure you is that, by the time I’m done, the person who will succeed me will be better than me.
“I don’t want to be a godfather and I don’t tolerate godfathers.
“We will all sit down, look at everybody and say, who is the best person for this job and then all of us will agree and we will campaign for him.
“He will win and we will take a back seat.”
The governor also reiterated his earlier stance not to seek another elective position after completing his second tenure.
He said his administration’s focus was to provide good governance and create an environment, where younger people could emerge as capable leaders.
“We should stop this sit-tight. It’s only you. It can’t be only you.
“There are smarter, more trained, better-trained, better-equipped younger people; our children. We need to give them opportunity,” he said.
Otti said that his administration was already preparing younger people to take over leadership responsibilities through various initiatives, including the Abia Leadership Academy.
He said that over 1,080 young people, between the ages of 16 and 25, had recently graduated from the academy.
“You will see how smart our children are. So, these are the people that will take over from us.
“And they are being trained now for tomorrow; so we can never go back,” he said.
The governor also said the administration’s effort to improve governance and infrastructure would continue, in spite of criticism.
He argued that development could not be achieved in one day.
He said his administration had prioritised the restoration of Aba and Umuahia before extending its interventions to other parts of the state.
“We are now moving into the hinterlands, and we will continue until we reach everywhere; so nothing will stop us,” he said.
He thanked Johnson-Chukwunenye for joining the party and for remembering less privileged children, including pupils from the School for the Blind.
Otti said such gestures demonstrated concern for vulnerable members of society.
In a speech, the National Vice-Chairman of the party (Southeast), Mr Ishmael Onuoha, said the party’s motto aligned with the ideals expressed in the third stanza of the national anthem.
Onuoha described the party as one committed to the masses and hope for Nigerians.
In a remark, the LP Chairman in Abia, Mr Peter Azubuike, said the growing support for the party was a by-product of  Otti’s good governance and performance.
Azubuike said the party was ready for the 2027 elections, urging members to prepare for polling-unit-based campaigns and ensure effective mobilisation at the grassroots.
In a speech, Johnson-Chukwunenye said that she had closely followed the Otti administration and was convinced by its efforts to clean, light up and restore dignity to Abia.
She said she decided to support Otti’s second-term bid because she believed his administration’s policies aligned with her vision of a government that remembers the poor and promotes equity.
She called for legislation on “continuity and completion” to ensure that successive administrations continued projects inherited from previous governments.

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BREAKING: After Historic Osun Victory, Adeleke Backs Tinubu for 2027 Re-Election

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BREAKING: After Historic Osun Victory, Adeleke Backs Tinubu for 2027 Re-Election—-Fresh from securing a second term as Osun governor under the Accord Party, Ademola Adeleke has reaffirmed his support for President Bola Tinubu’s bid for another term in 2027.

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has reaffirmed his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s bid for re-election in 2027, shortly after securing another four-year term as governor of the state.

Adeleke made the declaration in his victory speech following his successful re-election in the August 15 governorship election, where he contested under the Accord Party after leaving the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The governor’s renewed endorsement of Tinubu adds another significant dimension to his remarkable political journey. Adeleke won his first term as governor in 2022 on the PDP platform but subsequently moved to Accord ahead of the 2026 election, successfully defending his seat as an incumbent under his new party.

Adeleke Praises Tinubu After Election Victory

In his post-election remarks, Adeleke expressed appreciation to President Tinubu, who had called to congratulate him on his victory.

The Osun governor praised the President for what he described as his role in ensuring that democracy continued to thrive, while acknowledging Tinubu’s congratulatory gesture following the election.

Adeleke’s comments represent a notable development given the political rivalry and tensions that characterized the build-up to the Osun election.

Before the poll, the governor had repeatedly called on the Federal Government and security agencies to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election. His campaign also exchanged accusations with the APC over the conduct of the electoral process and the role of federal authorities.

Renewed Support for Tinubu’s 2027 Ambition

Adeleke’s endorsement of Tinubu for 2027 is not entirely new.

The governor had previously declared his support for Tinubu’s re-election campaign before the Osun governorship election. In June, while formally launching his Accord Party re-election campaign, Adeleke described his support for the President as “unshaken and total.”

He again reaffirmed that position after winning the Osun election, emphasizing his continued backing for the President’s second-term ambition. Vanguard and Punch both reported the governor’s renewed endorsement following his victory.

Adeleke also described Tinubu as a son of Osun, further highlighting the personal and political connection he says exists between the President and the state.

Adeleke’s Historic Political Switch

The endorsement comes just days after Adeleke achieved a major political feat by retaining the Osun governorship despite switching parties.

The governor was elected in 2022 as a PDP candidate but later abandoned the party following a prolonged internal crisis. He subsequently joined Accord and secured the party’s ticket to contest the 2026 election.

His decision created considerable political uncertainty because he was defending his position as an incumbent governor without the PDP structure that had originally brought him to power.

Adeleke ultimately overcame the challenge, winning another term under Accord and strengthening his position as one of the country’s most prominent politicians outside the traditional major-party platforms.

Tinubu Congratulates Adeleke

President Tinubu has also congratulated Adeleke on his re-election, describing the result as a reflection of the will of the people.

The President said the outcome demonstrated that democracy continues to flourish in Nigeria and urged the governor to use his renewed mandate to serve the people of Osun State.

The development creates an interesting political dynamic ahead of 2027, with Adeleke now firmly positioned as an Accord governor who is publicly supporting the incumbent President’s re-election bid.

For Adeleke, the immediate priority will be delivering on the mandate he has just received from Osun voters. But his decision to publicly back Tinubu also signals that his political calculations extend beyond the state and into the increasingly important national contest ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

After securing a historic second term under Accord, Adeleke has now turned his attention toward the next political battle — throwing his weight behind Tinubu’s bid to remain President beyond 2027.

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