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*AFAN president hails
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed some All Progressive Congress ( APC) chieftains as the chairmen board of directors at the nation's Agricultural Research Institutes.
The appointment is perceived as a broader effort to bring agricultural policy closer to local stakeholders and improve food security across the country, said the President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria ( AFAN), Architecture Kabiru Ibrahim.
President Tinubu's decision is also aimed to align political leadership with policy execution at the grassroots level, fostering more efficient governance, stakeholder engagement, and responsive agricultural programs.
Supporters of the initiative argued that involving politically influential individuals in leadership roles in the sector can bridge the gap between policy formulation and real-world implementation. They believed the synergy between politics and agriculture could improve decision-making processes, accelerate reform, and strengthen national food systems.
AFAN President, Kabiru Ibrahim, defended the appointments, saying that it is normal for impactful agricultural policies and implementation at the grassroots, where farming was done.
The newly appointed board chairmen will be expected to provide oversight functions to reshape agricultural policies and support institutional reforms across the country.
The appointed APC Chairmen with their Institutes as at press time is as follows
Alphonsus Ogar Eba (Cross River) – Chair, Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria, Benin City.
Austine Agada (Benue) – Chairman, Nigerian Agricultural Seed Council (NASC)
Abdullahi Abbas (Kano) – Chair, Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service
Macdonald Ebere (Imo) – Chair, Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology, Lagos
Ubong Stephen Ntukekpo (Akwa Ibom) – Chair, National Institute for Freshwater Fisheries Research, New Bussa
Emperor Jarrett Tenebe (Edo) – Chair, Federal College of Agriculture, Akure
Aminu Sani Gumel (Jigawa) – Chair, Federal College of Produce Inspection and Stored Products Technology, Kano
Barr. Idris Shuaibu (Adamawa) – Chair, Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Ibadan.
Can this be regarded as a paradigm shift in appointment of heads of Governing councils of Agricultural institutes in Nigeria? When viewed from the angle of the justification given by the FG, it seems plausible as long as the party chairmen and chairperson are not appointed as technical heads or executive directors of the research insitutes. The erroneous appointment of a non-professional as ED of the National Agricultural Seed Council readily comes to mind; this needs to be corrected immediately. Let the appointee be placed properly along his politically influential colleagues.
ReplyDeleteVery correct
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