President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has said that the country’s oil industry does not offer much employment opportunities for Nigerians inspite of the revenue the nation fetch from it.
He spoke at the commissioning of a Poultry Farm Center which the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) established in Gasamu, in Jakusko Local Government Area of Yobe State.
He said the employment hitch in the oil sector necessitates the need for Nigeria to be aggressive in its economic diversification drive.
He added:”Oil does not provide so much employment opportunities. There could be revenues but definitely not the mainstream opportunities in terms of employment. But when you diversify into agriculture, you would have much more people engaged, especially our youths who today are largely unemployed or under employed.”
Citing an August 2021 report by National Bureau of Statistics indicating that the Nigerian economy grew by 5.01 percent in GDP, Senator Lawan said that the development shows Nigeria is on the progress path.
He said:“We are making progress. We are not yet there but we will be there by the Grace of God and all indications are there that we will be there.No previous administration in Nigeria has committed as much fund, resources in agriculture than this administration. And I stand to be contradicted, that if not because of resources that we have put in agriculture sector, Nigeria would still have been importing the food that we eat.
“But everyone knows that the rice import bill had gone so low, almost to nothing today. We used to spend billions of dollars every year to import rice but we have been producing the rice that we eat.Of course we still have to work to stop smuggling of rice into Nigeria. But I want to assure you that the APC administration at all levels of government, from the local government, to the state and federal government, will continue to work for diversification of Nigerian economy”.
He maintained that the government’s approval for the take off of the farm was in fulfilment of its campaign promise to provide employment opportunities for the youths.
The Executive Secretary of NALDA, Hon. Paul Ikonne said the farm center was established on the mandate of President Buhari in order to empower the youths and get the country closer towards achieving food security.
“Mr President has directed NALDA to make agriculture attractive for our youths and for NALDA to produce what we are to eat and for Nigerians to eat what we produce.
“So we are here today for the commissioning of this 30,000-bird capacity which is specially made to produce Noiler.
“This center is like a reproduction centre that will be producing our locally improved birds that will be distributed across the country,” Hon Ikonne said.
He said the farm had the capacity of generating 850 eggs daily and N1.1 million daily from the sales of birds only.
Ikonne said the birds also had incubator centre in order to produce day old that would be used to establish or sent to other poultry houses across the country.
He said the revenue projection is that the farm center which entire capacity is to have 250,000 birds would generate not less than N400 million annually.
