NEWS
Lagos Begins ”20 Saturdays” Fresh Food Fair
The Lagos State Government, through its Ministry of Agriculture, on Saturday started a ”20 Saturdays” Fresh Food Fair, at the newly constructed Agro Produce Hub at Idi-Oro in the Mushin area.
The food hub was established by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration as one of the direct answers to food insecurity and sustainability plaguing the country.
The hub was busy with business activities on Saturday as farmers and consumers participated actively in the fair.
Speaking during the fair, Mr Dapo Olakulehin, the General Manager, Lagos State Coconut Development Authority, said that the state government had created an enabling environment and good market for farmers to sell their produce through the fresh food fair.
Olakulehin, while assuring the public of quality control, said that there were agriculture officers attached to all the value chains, who do the quality control of all the products on display at the fair.
He said that the idea of the fair was to bring the farmers who are producing different fresh products in Lagos State to display their agricultural produce.
According to him, the fair will improve the economy of the people.
”As a Lagosian, if you buy something costing between N2,000 to N50,000 at the fair using a MoMo account, you get a 10 per cent discount. That is empowerment to the citizens in general.
”If you buy 25kg rice at N26,500, you will get a 10 per cent discount if you pay with a MoMo account immediately. The same thing goes for all the items.
”We have created an enabling environment and a good market for our farmers to sell their produce through the fresh food fair. The money is being circulated in Lagos; you produce in Lagos and sell in Lagos. That is the idea.
”This fair will be coming up for the next 20 Saturdays; every Saturday till the end of July. Today is the first day; next week Saturday, farmers will also be here,” he said.
Olakulehin called on farmers in Lagos State to see the fair as a golden opportunity, hence, they should participate.
He urged them to get in touch with the Ministry of Agriculture on how to participate in the fair, so they could bring out their fresh products for display and purchase by residents.
The general manager added that the 20 Saturdays fair would help the public to know that Lagos also produces fresh agricultural produce.
”And because of the 10 per cent discount for the consumers, the farmers are sure that people will buy the products they display,” he said.
At the food fair, farmers and consumers commended the government for the initiative, saying that it will improve farmers’ productivity, and provide the opportunity for Lagos residents to have access to fresh farm produce.
Mrs Chinaza Asonye, who is a rice, fish, poultry and mushroom farmer, said that the hub provided an opportunity for farmers in Lagos State to showcase what they had been farming in the state.
”The market will be held every Saturday from today and you can rest assured that you will get all the produce you want to buy here. You will buy at an affordable price because it is from the farm gate at farmers’ price and not from a middle man.
”Whatever you are buying here, you will be sure that you are buying a profitable product. People have been patronising us. This is a beautiful venture for farmers in Lagos State,” Asonye said.
She said that what the government had done would give the farmers a big relief that whatever one wanted to farm in Lagos State would be bought by consumers.
Also speaking, a trader from Mile 2 International Market, Mr Mukaila Saliu, described the hub as a new market.
”We came here to sell our goods. We have tomatoes, various peppers – rodo, bawa; garlic, irish potato and carrot. We brought many farm produce here.
“This place is very good and we want more people to join us in patronising this market.
”This shows that we have a government that can assist us in improving our market. We really appreciate Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu,” Saliu said.
A businesswoman and consumer, Mrs Judith Ebun, who bought farm produce during the food fair expressed her satisfaction.
”Someone told me to come for the fresh food fair and I decided to come in to see what is happening here. Getting here, I loved what I saw.
”I have bought enough onions and tomatoes. I also bought a bag of rice and ororo (vegetable oil).
“I love the things I bought and the prices are nice. They are really subsidised. The government is trying. This is a good initiative,” she said.
Also speaking, the General Secretary, Poultry Association in Lagos State, Mr Foluso Adams, expressed his satisfaction with the food hub and urged the state government to build more hubs in different parts of the state.
Adams said that the fair was a good concept that other states could tap into because it would improve commerce.
”Farmers are being encouraged by sales of their produce, one way or the other. There is a good car park and security. The environment is serene and peaceful. It is what we want.
”They should not make it only this place alone. Lagos is very big; government should build another food hub in Badagry, Epe and other localities.
“This will ensure that more farmers and consumers benefit from agricultural programmes like this,” he said. (NAN)
The FCT Customary Court, Dutse, Abuja has appealed to the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to facilitate the renovation of its court complex which fell victim to vandalism and arson during the 2020 EndSARS protests.The President of the Court, Aderinto Adesoji, made the appeal during a resumed hearing in a divorce case between a petitioner, Chiwendu Nwadi and her husband, Emeka Nwadi in Ushafa, Abuja.
The Customary Court, Dutse has been sharing the court complex of a sister court in Ushafa for its sittings following the destruction. of its facilities, four years back.NAN reports that while Customary Court, Ushafa, the real owner of the facility, has its sittings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in a week, the Dutse court has its sittings on Tuesday and Thursday. Report says that Dutse and Ushafa are communities in Bwari Area Council of the FCT and they are about 17 kilometres apart.Addressing lawyers to the parties in the divorce case, when they were finding it difficult to agree on a date for next hearing in the matter, the President of the court said it is a recurrent challenge in matters before the courtAccording to him, the constraint of the panel, sitting only twice in a week has grossly affected quick dispensation of justice.He said most cases before the cout involve families, in particular, custody of children which require urgent adjudication, and should not be encumbered.Adesoji said, considering the fact that lawyers and their clients are affected by the constraints, the NBA should take steps to ensure that the appropriate authorities renovate the Dutse court complex.He said promises have been made by the association to that effect in the past, but they were yet to be actualised.Responding to the President’s appeal, Mr Moses Ibe, the lawyer to the petitioner promised the court that he would convey the message to the NBA, Bwari branch for necessary action.Ibe said this in an interview after the court session, that the distance of the court to its jurisdiction and the restrictive days of sittings have affected quick dispensation of justice.He said the essence of building the Dutse court was to bring justice closer to the people, but it has been defeated by the failure of appropriate authorities to renovate it for useThe Counsel promised to officially write to the NBA, Bwari branch to convey the Judge’s message and request for interventionAccording to Ibe, the Dutse court complex, used to serve as the Secretariat of the NBA Bwari branch, before it was vandalised and set ablaze by the EndSARS protesters.Meanwhile, the court has adjourned further hearing in the divorce petition until Oct. 21 to enable the respondent file his reply.Adesoji and other members of the panel, Nana Atipkoru, Aisha Hamza adjourned the case following the position of the respondent’s lawyer, Cornelius Simon, that his client was not served with the “particular of claims” in the petition.The panel directed that all necessary processes should be filed and served before the adjourned date so that the case would be fixed for definite hearing.The panel also ordered that the parties should maintain the status quo, particularly, as regards the custody of the children – the last child is with the petitioner, while the other two are in the custody of the respondent.In the case, the petitioner is seeking, among others, the dissolution of her 13 years marriage with her husband on the ground that “the union has broken down irretrievably”.She alleged that the husband, “is a man of unimaginable violence and cruelty, fetish, a serial wife beater and adulterer’The petitioner alleged that her husband deliberately poisoned her drink which led to losing her pregnancy.According to the petitioner, the union, consummated in 2011, under the native law and custom, as well as exchange of marital vows in a Church, has produced three children, ages, 12 years, 11 years and 2 years.She urged the court to dissolve the marriage, grant custody of the three children to her and restrain the husband from using thugs or any security agents to harass her. (NAN)
The Northern Youths Assembly has cautioned the National Assembly against passing the Tax Reforms Bill from the executive before the legislature.This is contained in an open letter to the lawmakers signed by the group’s President, Dr Ali Mohammed, and Secretary-General, Dr Garba Abduljafiz and made available to newsmen in Kano on Thursday.
The group said the bill, if passed into law, would not be in the interest of the people, particularly youths, urging for broader consultation on matters of that nature. The youths urged the National Assembly to concentrate on youth-friendly laws to safeguard the country’s future instead.“The youth are Nigeria’s future, “and our prosperity hinges on investments in education, skills development, and job creation.“As the largest political demography in the nation, youth must have a say in laws and policies that directly impact the country’s future.“We call for the creation of a special place at the centre, to allow the youths to contribute to solutions that may promote sustainable development, job creation, and economic empowerment,” the group said.The group urged the lawmakers to focus more on making laws that would improve investment climate and job creation.“We urge the National Assembly members to direct their resources and energy towards creating laws that would prioritise and encourage foreign investment.“The laws should encourage skills development and jobs creation for the teeming population of the youths, to improve measures that risk stifling the Nigerian economic opportunity.“We also urge them to stop complying with the dictates and advisory of the agents of destruction, IMF and World.“We must stay away from the trap of the IMF and World Bank, as they are all out to destroy our country through their ill-formulated policies and misleading advisory’’, the group said. (NAN)
The Defence Headquarters has confirmed the emergence of a new terrorists’ group known as ‘Lukarawas’ exacerbating insecurity in the North Western part of Nigeria.The Director of Defence Media Operations, Maj.-Gen. Edward Buba, made this known while briefing newsmen on the operations of the military on Thursday in Abuja.
Buba said that the new terror group emerged from the Republic of Niger after the coup that led to the breakdown of military cooperation between Nigeria and Niger. He said that the terrorists began incursion into northern parts of Sokoto and Kebbi States from the Niger Republic and Mali axis, particularly after the coup in Niger Republic.According to him, prior to the coup, there were joint border operations with Nigerien security forces which kept the terrorist at bay.“The terrorists took advantage of the gaps in cooperation between both countries and exploited difficult terrains to make incursions in remote areas in some North Western states to spread their ideology,” he said.Buba said that the group was accommodated by the locals who initially thought that the group meant well for them, adding that they failed to report the movement to the military and security agencies.He gave assurance that toops had sustained Imtelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) to degrade the terrorists.He added that the terror group had continued to take advantage of the vast under-governed areas to hide and evade troops as well as harass the locals.According to him, troops are locating them and eliminating the threat. (NAN)
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