From Godwin Okah, Abakaliki

The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ebonyi State, Chief Stanley Emegha, has warned party stakeholders in Onicha Local Government Area against fractionalization, urging them to unite and work for the party’s victory in all elective positions in the 2027 general elections.

Emegha said the APC could only consolidate its political strength in the council if its leaders and members put aside personal interests, embrace peace and strengthen the party’s structures ahead of the elections.

The APC chairman spoke while addressing stakeholders and leaders of the party from Onicha LGA and the Southern Senatorial District at the party’s state secretariat on Waterworks Road, Abakaliki.

The meeting, attended by serving and former political office holders as well as community and opinion leaders from various autonomous communities in Onicha, reviewed the challenges confronting the party and prospects for the 2027 elections.

Emegha appealed to stakeholders to jettison personal political ambitions capable of causing division, stressing that the APC remained one united and indivisible family.

He said: “There is a need for peace and unity among all our stakeholders. We must put the overall interest of the party above personal political pursuits. There should be no further factionalization because APC is one united family.”

The party chairman also commended APC candidates from Onicha LGA for their efforts in reaching out to the electorate but charged them to intensify their grassroots engagements ahead of the commencement of campaigns.

He said stronger interaction with voters at the grassroots would make mobilisation easier and further strengthen the party’s chances at the polls.

The Chairman of Onicha LGA, Ikechukwu Ogbofia, applauded the state leadership for convening the meeting, disclosing that he had earlier met with stakeholders in the council, where they agreed to work together in peace and unity.

Ogbofia assured the state chairman that similar meetings would be taken to all electoral wards in the council before the commencement of campaigns to consolidate unity among members.

Former Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Chigozie Ogbu, who spoke on behalf of Onicha stakeholders, promised that all outstanding issues among party leaders would be resolved amicably.

Ogbu also assured the APC leadership that the people of Onicha would vote massively for all the party’s candidates in the 2027 elections.

Former Onicha council chairman, Chidiebere Agwu Uzor, equally declared that the APC had no serious challenger in the local government.

He expressed confidence that the party would secure victory in all positions during the elections.

The meeting subsequently resolved that APC candidates from Onicha should immediately intensify grassroots engagement.

DAILY ASSETS reports that the party leadership explores further measures to strengthen its structures and resolve outstanding concerns ahead of the 2027 polls.

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

The Senate Minority Leader and Senator representing Benue South senatorial district, Abba Moro, on Saturday launched a campaign for his reelection for the 2027 general elections, just as the Benue South All Progressives Congress (APC) endorsed his re-election bid.

Moro, who is the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), received endorsement from the members of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC as their sole candidate for the 2027 senatorial election in the zone.

Speaking during the launching which was held at Otukpo, Otupko Local Government Area (LGA), Senator Moro dared, governor Hyacinth Alia to show any projects his administration has sited in senatorial zone

He explained that despite Alia collecting huge amounts from the Federation Account, he has failed in his responsibility to cater for the needs of the people of Zone C, adding that as the representative of the people he would not shy away from pointing out to the governor his shortcomings.

The lawmaker observed that due to the neglect the people of the senatorial district were now looking up to him, as their representative at the NASS, to provide their needs, which ordinarily should be provided by the Alia administration.

According to Moro, APC and PDP in Zone C, were in a strategic alliance to ensure his return and secure a second term for President Bola Tinubu.

In his speech, the immediate past Governor of Benue State and leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state and the North-Central region, Chief Dr. Samuel Ortom, assured the people of Benue South Senatorial District (Zone C) of the party’s capacity to provide purposeful and effective leadership for the zone and Benue State.

The former governor said the PDP had consistently delivered the dividends of democracy to the people of Zone C through the efforts of Senator Abba Moro, whom he described as a committed party man who has remained steadfast since the party’s inception.

He recalled that his administration executed and commissioned several projects across the state, stressing that some projects, including the Ochi Idoma Road, Commercial Road, and Armstrong Avenue were constructed and commissioned within his first term in office.

Chief Ortom further stated that his administration, during its eight-year tenure, completed and commissioned several landmark projects in Zone C, including the Ochi Idoma Palace.

He challenged the present administration in the state to showcase projects it had commissioned in Zone C, stating that the current government had relied heavily on “deceit and propaganda” despite receiving substantial allocations from the Federation Account.

Chief Ortom thanked the people of Zone C for identifying with the PDP and assured them that the party would not disappoint them.

He urged voters to support all PDP candidates, particularly the party’s governorship candidate, Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, SAN, whom he described as a genuine and experienced administrator capable of providing effective leadership and tackling insecurity in the state.

According to him, the possibility of producing a governor from Zone C remains achievable if stakeholders, traditional rulers, and party leaders work together and make the necessary political arrangements.

The former governor also received a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zone C, Barrister John Attach Ochoga and his supporters into the PDP, describing their decision as a significant boost to the party’s strength in the area.

In his remarks, Chief Michael Kaase Aondoakaa, governorship candidate of the PDP, who described the neglect of the people of the zone, exclaimed the Zone C has suffered underdevelopment under the Alia administration.

He assured the people of Zone C that their needs would be addressed when he becomes governor, in 2027.

The immediate past governor of the state, Chief Ortom, assured the people of Benue South, of the capacity of the PDP to provide purposeful and effective leadership for the zone and Benue State.

He pointed out that the party had consistently delivered the dividends of democracy to the people of Zone C through the efforts of Senator Abba Moro, whom he described as a committed party man who has remained steadfast since the party’s inception.

Ortom further stated that his administration had completed and commissioned several landmark projects in Zone C, including the Ochi’Idoma palace.

Ezekiel Adaji, Benue State chairman of the PDP, sounded a note of warning to “mushroom parties that we are taking over”, the state.

He also presented Senator Moro, all candidates of the party for the House of Representatives (HoR), and the eleven candidates for the Benue State House of Assembly (BNHA) elections for the 2027 elections in the zone with the party’s flags.

He also said confidently, “With you (Abba Moro) as a candidate I know all other candidates will fly; go and conquer for PDP.

Receiving Barr John Ochoga, and other decampees of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the PDP chairman, observed that there were no latecomers in PDP, and that they were all entitled to all privileges that every other PDP member is entitled to.

Speaking, Ochoga, noted that in the last three years, the Idoma people had not had it good, “why have the Idoma nation become the heavers of wood and fetchers of water.”

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Green Harvest Food Stuffs, Prince Joshua Apeh, has described cassava as Nigeria’s “new crude oil,” saying massive investment in its production and processing in Benue South Senatorial District could transform the nation’s economy and strengthen food security.

Apeh made the assertion at the weekend during the Farmers Awareness and Mobilisation Programme and the flag-off of the Green Harvest Cooperative Society in Benue South Senatorial District (Zone C), organised by Green Harvest Food Stuffs in Otukpo.

He said Benue South, popularly known as Zone C, had enormous cassava resources capable of supporting large-scale agro-industrial development, but lamented that inadequate processing facilities had prevented farmers from maximising the economic value of their produce.

“Our cassava is our crude oil. Just as crude oil transformed the fortunes of nations, cassava can transform the fortunes of our people if we are willing to invest in it, process it, add value to it and take it to the global market.

“This is a new dawn for the people of Idoma and for Nigeria. With the capacity we have here, we can end hunger in Nigeria and across West Africa, just as crude oil once changed the fortunes of this nation,” he said.

According to him, Green Harvest Food Stuffs is strategically positioned to contribute to food security and support the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He said the region could become a major carbohydrate and renewable-energy hub if its agricultural resources were properly harnessed.

Apeh explained that cassava could be processed into food products and industrial materials, as well as serve as raw material for bioethanol and biofuel production. Such investments, he said, would create jobs, stimulate rural economies and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuel.

He said the Green Harvest Cooperative Society was established to provide farmers with access to agricultural inputs, financing, mechanisation and guaranteed markets for their produce.

“We want to create a new environment for farmers, where they have an already off-taking market. They don’t need to struggle to sell their products after harvesting. We also want to secure food security and reduce harvest losses,” he said.

Apeh disclosed that about 3,000 farmers had so far obtained registration forms to participate in the cooperative, with more expected to join following the mobilisation exercise.

He said cooperative members would benefit from loan facilities, improved cassava stems and seedlings, fertilisers, farm equipment and tractor services, among other interventions aimed at increasing agricultural productivity.

He explained that Benue South was chosen as the base of the initiative because of its huge cassava production potential.

“We cannot have the highest deposit of cassava in Benue South and have no processing factory to transform it and add value to it. That is why we are here,” he said.

The Green Harvest CEO disclosed that the company currently had the capacity to produce about 250,000 kilogrammes of garri monthly and 300,000 kilogrammes of flour, while plans were underway to expand into livestock feed production and establish a major bioethanol plant.

He said the proposed bioethanol facility would utilise the abundant cassava resources in the region to produce fuel that could support Nigeria’s downstream oil and gas sector.

On insecurity, which has forced some farmers to abandon their farms, Apeh said Green Harvest was developing measures to improve the safety of farmers and agricultural workers.

He disclosed that the company was establishing a situation room to monitor farms, detect security threats and promptly alert security agencies to protect farmers and farm workers.

According to him, the company had already provided motorcycles and vehicles for youths involved in farm surveillance and was planning to deploy drones and cameras linked to a central control centre for monitoring agricultural areas.

“We are already setting up a platform that could tackle the issue. We are strengthening our youths to stand up and protect the farmlands. We are also bringing in drones that can do surveillance and putting cameras around the farms so that we can monitor what happens during any hour of the day,” he said.

Apeh acknowledged that the company faced challenges, particularly the need for additional resources and stronger partnerships with government, but said its commitment to the initiative was driven by the agricultural potential of Benue South.

“This is my heritage. This is what our ancestors are known for. Since this is our heritage and what we are known for, we have to do it,” he said.

He called on the government to support the Green Harvest model and replicate similar agricultural value-chain initiatives across the country, saying such interventions could strengthen rural economies, empower farmers, create employment and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on food imports.

He reiterated that Benue’s fertile land and abundant cassava production could position the state as a major carbohydrate hub and enable it to make a significant contribution to food security in Nigeria and across West Africa.

The Green Harvest CEO also acknowledged the Chairman of the company, Letthemsay Braboke Inaibagha, for his support in making the company’s achievements possible.

He invited individuals and organisations interested in doing business with the company to contact it on 09035876764.

A guest speaker at the event, Gideon Oche Emmanuel, commended Green Harvest Food Stuffs for the initiative and called on the government and other stakeholders to emulate the company by establishing similar cassava processing factories in other parts of the country.

Community leaders, including Agara Uwoke, Adakole Onyilokwu and Baba Acheme, also commended Green Harvest Food Stuffs for its support to farmers and communities.

They described the initiative as an opportunity for the Idoma people to “rewrite their story” and gain global recognition through cassava production and processing.

Other beneficiaries, including Okpachu Ode, Comfort Okubi and James Adaka, praised Green Harvest for the intervention, saying access to markets, farm inputs and other forms of support would enable farmers to earn better returns on their investments.

They added that the initiative would encourage more people to return to farming and expand agricultural production in the region.