Commerce

Investment in commercial farming, way of solving revenue issues — Osinbajo

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VICE President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday, said that Nigeria, as well as the states of the federation, will find it easier to overcome revenue issues by devoting deliberate attention to commercial farming.

Professor Osinbajo, stated this while interacting with a delegation from the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, who was on a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Vice President in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, further submitted that all it takes is the hardwork and dedication of all stakeholders in the sector.

Speaking after listening to a presentation on the Commission’s framework for sustainable agricultural transformation in the states, Prof. Osinbajo said, “agriculture can be the solution to a lot of our IGR needs and a lot of our resource needs; it has been proven so many times that it is possible.”

Making reference to what was obtainable in the 1950s and 60s in the agricultural sector in the then regional governments, the Vice President noted that “the truth of the matter is that the difference between then and now is the political will. There is no question at all that there is far more information today than there was then but someone has to have the will to do it.

“There is no question at all, that any part of Nigeria, if there is sufficient dedication and hard work, can feed the entire country. There are smaller countries not up to the size of one State in Nigeria that are producing enough and exporting produce to other parts of the world.”

The Vice President also acknowledged the importance of private sector collaboration in transforming agriculture but emphasized the need for stakeholders to focus on research and development, noting that the progress made by some countries of the world, especially in the area of commercial farming have been hinged on research.

According to him, “obviously, what will take us out of the woods and make us relevant in terms of export and even in terms of satisfying local demands is commercial farming.”

Addressing the concern raised about challenges in developing the agriculture value chain, the VP said “there must be a way of perfecting the value chain and ensure that the value chain actually works.

“Of course, it involves logistics, transportation, credit facility, etc. A lot more attention needs to be paid to how that value chain works. No matter how much you are producing, if you don’t work on the value chain, you will just be wasting a lot of the resources.”

With respect to government policy, Prof. Osinbajo said “we have been doing a lot of work with agro-export in particular. One of the problems that we are faced with is even with the whole process of exporting. We are addressing the problem, we have had several meetings with agro exporters. It is among the issues that we are trying to pay attention to.”

The Vice President then commended the DAWN Commission for its efforts, noting that “the work that the commission is doing is seminal. It is work not just for the present but perhaps for the future of the South-West region and of course of the entire nation.”

During the presentation by the delegation, the role of young people in agriculture was mentioned. The example of a young agric entrepreneur, who was part of the delegation, CEO of Smart Farm Nigeria, Ms Modupe Oyetoso, came up. Despite initial setbacks and personal tragedy, Oyetoso persisted and is now thriving in the agriculture sector.

Commenting, the Vice President praised her courage and commended “the great fortitude that you have shown. I must commend you and to say that we are all greatly encouraged by the work that you have done. I hope that many hearing your story and the successes that have followed will be encouraged to go into commercial farming.”

Earlier in his remarks, the Director-General of DAWN, Mr Seye Oyeleye, briefed the VP on the efforts made over the years, reporting that the commission has developed blueprints for the development of the health and education sectors in the 6 States of the South-West.

He also cited the revitalization of cocoa production and the framework for sustainable agricultural transformation in the region, among achievements recorded by the commission in the 9 years of its establishment.

In the presentation of the agricultural transformation plan, Mrs Abiodun Oladipo, a member of the delegation said the commission among other things, aims to facilitate the operationalization of existing Staple Crop Processing Zone (SCPZ) master plans as part of the broad objective of transforming farming in the region.

She said DAWN collaborating with private investors will also facilitate value chain development in the production of cassava, cocoa, maize, oil palm, and cotton.

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Inaugural flight: Green Africa begins operation in Ibadan Airport

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Green Africa Airline today, 12th of October, 2023 joins the league of other existing airlines operating in Ibadan airport.

The Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Babawande Afolabi officially announced the commencement of operation at the inaugural flight ceremony which was graced the deputy governor of Oyo state, some chieftains and some state house of assembly Honorables.

The airline is scheduled to operate throughout the week except on Wednesdays and will cover Ibadan, Lagos and Abuja.

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Commerce

Storm Exchange Your Trusted Solution For Digital Currency Exchange

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Storm Exchange over the years have been confirmed to be one of the most reliable platforms to trade digital currency. The platform has also gained wide recognition due to their reliability and swiftness.

Udeogu Chinedu Paul, CEO Storm Exchange is from the Eastern hemisphere of Nigerian but his platform is known all over the world as of today.

Udeogu Chinedu Paul was born on the 1st of April, 1998 and attended Saint Paul primary school and later attended Ikwodiaku Primary school, Awka before later proceeding to Bishop Chrowther Seminary, Awka.

Speaking to newsmen about his journey to being a successful trader, he explains that his secret is simply fear of God. If you include fear of God in everything you do, success will eventually embrace you.

I have never doubted myself from day one, I have never had any plan to be dubious because I know it won’t end well.
The fuel of my success however, is swiftness, reliability and trustworthiness.

I always mention trustworthiness because what I am enjoying today mostly is referrals. My clients always refer me to their friends and family simply because of my level of trustworthiness.

Going forward, Paul sends a strong message to other trading platforms that the digital world is here to stay, it has rapidly evolved and the sky is wide enough for every trader to trade. He therefore, advises them to invest more in trustworthiness for it is the fuel to being a successful trader.

When Paul was asked where he would love to be in few years time, he said he is not stopping until he becomes the number one trader in the whole world. He plans to have the strongest platform in the whole world and prays that God grants his wishes.

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Stock market jumps to 15-year high after Emefiele’s suspension

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The Nigerian stock market rose to its highest level since July 2008 on Tuesday, the first day of trading after the suspension of the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.

According to a report by Bloomberg, investors are betting on a currency devaluation and sent the main index of the Nigerian Exchange to above 57,437 points, which contrasted with a flat performance for MSCI’s main emerging equity benchmark.

 

The report stated that this move takes the country’s stocks’ year-to-date gains to 11.8 per cent, almost double the six per cent return on the MSCI index.

It noted that the rally, which followed increased gains on Nigerian dollar bonds on Monday, reflected optimism over the policy signals from the newly elected President, Bola Tinubu.

The head of research at Chapel Hill Denham, Tajudeen Ibrahim, stated, “An improvement in the economy will enhance the performance of companies operating in the market.”

Since resuming office, the new president has scrapped fuel subsidy and recently suspended the apex bank’s governor, Emefiele.

The NGX Banking Index has since risen by 8.5 per cent to 570.64, its biggest advance in more than eight years.

Ibrahim, added, “The exchange rate convergence is expected to lead to improvement in liquidity in the foreign currency market and will increase trading activities for the banks.”

Meanwhile, pressure is mounting on the naira to fall towards its market value. The currency has fallen to 474 per dollar, with traders betting on further depreciation.

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