The Minister of Agriculture, and Rural
Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has dismissed claims that the federal government
has sealed a N25 billion egg production contract with Tuns Farms Nigeria
Limited. A civil Society Organisation, Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), had
reportedly sued the minister at the Federal High Court, Abuja, praying the
court to compel the minister to furnish it with details of the said contract.
However, speaking through his Special Adviser
(Media), Dr. Olukayode Oyeleye, in Abuja, at the weekend, the minister said,
CSJ acted on “mere imagination and insinuation, without any fact-check.”
Chief
Ogbe said further, “The group has insinuated that the said contract was
supposedly aimed at facilitating egg production in the country on a project
tagged National Egg Production Scheme, NEGPRO.
It is asking for a copy of the signed
agreement, the contact address of the company, the newspaper where the
procurement contract was advertised and the criteria for selecting Tuns Farms
for the project.”
He explained, “no contract was awarded to any company or
business organisation for the purpose of egg production. Rather, the Federal
Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, in
Abuja, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth N25 billion on National
Egg Production (NEGPRO) scheme, with Tuns Farms Nigeria Limited.
“NEGPRO scheme
involves many farmers who are in the business of egg production.
The selection of Tuns Farms to lead the group
of farmers was based on certain criteria, essentially anchored on the track
records of performance. Under the terms of the deal, Tuns Farms will recommend
eligible entrepreneurs to access the N25 billion facility as well as, endorse
their loan requirements and application, and monitor their activities within
the scheme.
“The Bank of Industry has a role in providing finance for the
takeoff of the scheme, an initiative aimed at increasing egg production in the
country to about 50 million table eggs daily by 2018.
The scheme, which would be funded by BoI,
would create one million jobs at full capacity. “In addition, under this
private sector-led initiative, the company will recommend standard
specifications and costing for the scheme, monitor activities of entrepreneurs
involved in the scheme, support Boi through the National Technical Committee in
the selection process of commercial banks to disburse and recoup the N25
billion anchor-borrower facility from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as
well as, select entrepreneurs and stakeholders across the country for
recommendation to the Technical Committee for final ratification and
appointment to participate in the scheme.
“It is therefore surprising that a
group, having no knowledge of the NEGPRO scheme, would concoct allegations and
choose to sue the minister on pages of newspaper and on social media to gain attention.
It needs to be emphasised that the said civil
rights group is not working in the interest of social justice but on a
self-serving mission for some disgruntled interest groups, hiding behind a
facade of civil rights activism.”
The minister urged the public to ignore the
claims and allegation, which he said “contained no truth whatsoever” and dubbed
the action as “a mechanism for distraction to bring discontent against the
laudable, private sector-led initiative aimed at solving the problem of egg production
in the country.”
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