Unified Northern Youth Forum (UNYF) has described the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Dr. Godwin Emefiele, as the best candidate to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari because of his experience in the economic sector.
Addressing political stakeholders in Birnin Kebbi, yesterday, Director-General of UNYF, Dr. Ibrahim Bature, said the calls for Emefiele to contest the presidency were because of his commitment to promotion of economic activities and diversification of the economy from oil to agriculture.
“He was CBN governor during the Goodluck Jonathan regime and is completing his eight years with Buhari. Emefiele has done a lot to improve the country’s economy,” he added.
The group also described the 60-year-old economist as incarnate of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello.
“Agriculture used to be the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy until the discovery of crude oil that made us lazy and reliant. These are the reasons the Nigerian economy is so backward and falling to a state of comatose,” he added.
“To bring back the lost glory of Nigeria, the pride of Northerners and to revive the economy, agriculture must be pursued with all aggression and determination. Since the demise of Sardauna, the North has never had an individual that takes agriculture seriously and over any other sector like Emefiele,” Bature stated.
The DG noted the agricultural initiatives of the CBN governor to include Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS), National Food Security Programme (NFSP), Agribusiness /Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS), Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI), Industry/Manufacturing, Real Sector Support Facility (RSSF), Textile Sector Intervention Facility (TSIF) and CBN-BOI Industry Financing.
Spokesman for the group, Aliyu Sani, said that the statistics shows the robust growth recorded by the agric sector in the fourth quarter of 2020 helped the economy to record its first growth in three quarters, and moved out of recession.
Under the ABP, $2 billion out of about $2.5 billion earmarked for key initiatives in the agriculture, manufacturing and mining services sectors was reportedly disbursed to over three million farmers cultivating over 4.7 million hectares of arable land in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
“In 2020 alone, N260 billion was disbursed to over 1.28 million farmers to support the cultivation of staple items. Before the initiation of ABP by Godwin Emefiele, there were only 15 standard rice mills in Nigeria; but today, we have over 50 standard and integrated rice mills, mostly situated in Northern Nigeria, creating jobs and reducing unemployment,” Sani said.
Meanwhile, the Kebbi State coordinator of the forum, Abubakar Sambawa, has assured that Emefiele will get over two million votes from the state, if given the ticket.
Follow our socials Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google News.