*Appoint Governors of Ebonyi, Delta, Lagos, Kebbi, others members
Barely 24 hours after promising at the formal commissioning of the Sunti Sugar project in Niger on Thursday government’s plans to establish a food security council to ease food security in the country, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the establishment of National Food Security Council and constitution of the Council’s membership.
Days before the hint in Niger State, the President had announced the intention of the Federal Government to establish the Council.
Making this known in a statement he issued in Abuja on Friday, copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER, Malam Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said the Council, to be chaired by the President, will be inaugurated on Monday, March 26.
Shehu added that the membership of the Council will include the Governors of Kebbi, Taraba, Plateau, Lagos, Ebonyi and Delta states.
Other Members, the presidential spokesman said, are the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; the Chief of Staff to the President; the National Security Adviser and seven (7) cabinet Ministers. The Ministers to be represented are for Agriculture and Rural Development; Finance; Interior; Industry, Trade and Investment; Water Resources; Environment; and Budget and National Planning.
The National Food Security Council will also have as Members, the Chief of Defence Staff; the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; the Directors-General of the Department of State Services and the National Intelligence Agency as well as the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service.
“The broad objectives of the Council will include, developing sustainable solutions to the farmers–herdsmen clashes; Climate Change and Desertification and their impact on farmland; grazing areas and lakes, rivers and other water bodies; oil spillage and its impact on Niger Delta Fishing Communities; piracy and banditry; agricultural research institutions and extension services and the problem of smuggling.
“The Council will also take interest in regional and global policies and trends that bear implications for food security in Nigeria,” the statement said.
