Probe minister of Agriculture for late distribution of fertilizers to Nigerians- Nwaebonyi tells Tinubu

By Uchenna Okeh Abakaliki

The Senate Deputy Chief Whip and Lawmaker representing Ebonyi North Senatorial zone, Onyekachi Nwebonyi, has tasked Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.

He however called on President Tinubu to probe the minister of Agriculture and food security, to ascertain why the distribution of fertilizer to farmers by the minister of agriculture was done lately.

Nwebonyi who made this known while speaking with newsmen shortly after distributing over two thousand bags of fertilizer at his country home in Mbeke Ishieke, Ebonyi local government area, said it’s an insult on the senate for the minister of Agriculture to distribute fertilizer when farmers are already harvesting crops.

He said:”I want to use this opportunity to call Nigerians, particularly the youth and the graduates, to see agriculture as the way to go. With agriculture, you don’t need a white-collar job. As I said earlier, our morals towards agriculture are completely zero, hence the need to rethink and move towards agriculture.

“With agriculture, Nigeria can come back as the Giant of Africa. And I want to use this opportunity to say, whosoever sources the fertilizer came to us, the fertilizer is coming late. It’s late, and the purpose will be forfeited because when you give farm inputs to farmers on time, it will help them to plan to be more realistic than giving fertilizer when they are harvesting.

“It’s completely out of it, and I want to call Mr President to investigate the delay in the distribution of this fertilizer. If it’s from the Ministry of Agriculture or CBN, it must be investigated, because in this part of the country, particularly in Ebonyi State, when you fail to give fertilizer to the farmers between June and July, you are wasting your time. I want to apologize to the people of Ebonyi North Senatorial District for receiving their fertilizer quite” he stated.

He further called on Nigerians to be patient with Tinubu’s administration, adding that: “” Let me use this opportunity to appeal to the Nigerians to be patient with Mr President because when you look at his policies and programs, you will see a man who is out to change our narratives as a nation”.

Nwebonyi further tasked the Minister of Agriculture to take his job seriously, adding that, giving farm inputs, especially fertilizer late is an insult to the Nigeria senate.

“We just did our new yam festival and started harvesting our yam; where are we going to use our fertilizer if not for the next farming season? So, I want to urge the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security to sit up and stop this insult – it’s an insult to the Senate, and it’s an insult to Nigerians.

“It means that the Minister is not serious about how he can bring fertilizer when people are already harvesting. It’s uncalled for and Mr President should investigate this. Nigerians want results in all our policies and programs. If we say we are giving farm inputs to the Nigerian farmers, give them inputs between March and June to enable them to plan, not give them inputs in the middle or towards the end of the farming season.

“This is not acceptable. This is not the way to go, and we must correct ourselves. We are Nigerians, and God must not come down from heaven to make Nigeria better” he stressed.