The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, has said he would shut down any fertilizer plant that denies local farmers access while exporting the same commodities.

 
The minister made this decision following the allegations that one of the two big urea plants in Nigeria is producing for export while selling to Nigerian farmers at high prices, making affordability and accessibility difficult.
 
The minister made this known in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on media, Dr. Kayode Oyeleye. He said: “Two urea plants are big enough to run the Nigerian demands. We know their capacities. But where there are allegations that some people are exporting instead of putting in the Nigerian market, and prices shot to N10,000 per bag of urea, we became extremely angry with them. Thank God now, many of them have started producing and putting into the market. The price is already dropping.”
 
Ogbeh noted that the Nigerian market is of utmost priority ahead of exporting, “we are warning against the future. There can’t be any priority but the Nigerian market. If there is a surplus, they are free to export. But, unless and until there is a surplus, we can’t sit by and watch people selling fertilizer beyond the shores of Nigeria when the local farmers have nothing to buy. And we are saying the same to others. The priority is the Nigerian market.”
 
According to the minister, “there is a good market. There is no reason to side-track this market and go and create difficulties for farmers, because there is hunger in the land and government is taking the blame. And we are giving every support we can to people who want to manufacture locally; and we will always give. So, we need absolute cooperation from all of them.”
 
The minister explained that the affected firm has apologized and promised to make the commodity available for local farmers. He quipped that fertilizers are in circulation now.