… As Mbah highlights agro-industrial strides, says Enugu ready for agribusiness

The Federal Government and Enugu State Government have reaffirmed their commitment to transforming agriculture into a commercially driven, agro-industrialised sector capable of boosting food security, creating jobs and stimulating economic growth.

The two governments restated their shared policy objective on Thursday at the 48th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Agriculture and Food Security, hosted by the Enugu State Government, with Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State and the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, highlighting ongoing interventions to strengthen agricultural value chains, improve productivity and expand market access.

The meeting, held at Hotel Presidential, Enugu, and themed, “Enhancing Agricultural Value Chains, Agro-Industrialization and Market Access for Economic Growth,” brought together Commissioners and delegates from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, development partners and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector.

Addressing the delegates, Governor Mbah said the transformation of agriculture required more than increased food production, stressing the need to connect farmers to mechanisation, processing facilities, industries and viable domestic and international markets.

He said his administration’s ambition to grow Enugu’s economy from approximately $4.4 billion to $30 billion by 2031 informed its decision to position agriculture as a major driver of economic growth.

“We want Enugu to become a place where agriculture supports industry, industry creates opportunities for farmers and entrepreneurs, and our products compete successfully in domestic and international markets,” he noted.

The governor disclosed that more than 60,000 farmers had benefited from agricultural support programmes, while 84,000 farmers had been captured in a digital registry to improve the distribution of interventions.

Mbah equally said his administration was addressing the problem of scale through the 260 Farm Estates Programme.

“We are working to establish organised agricultural production hubs across all 260 wards of Enugu State, creating opportunities for farmers, cooperatives, agribusinesses and young entrepreneurs to participate in larger, more productive agricultural enterprises.

“To support this, we have developed an Agricultural Land Bank, securing approximately 187,000 hectares through strategic partnerships with communities,” he stated.

The governor also highlighted the assembly of 107 tractors through a partnership with Nortra Tractors to ensure the availability of machines to scale up production.

On agro-industrialisation, Mbah cited the expansion of the hitherto moribund Enugu United Palm Products Limited plantation to 6,917 hectares, thus creating more than 3,500 jobs in the process.

Mbah also highlighted the revival of Enugu Songhai Farms in partnership with Tribu Limited as a 10,000-hectare agro-industrial hub, and the reactivation of Sunrise Flour Mills.

He also cited the Integrated Livestock Development Centre at Ubahu, designed to accommodate between 15,000 and 20,000 cattle, as part of efforts to strengthen the state’s agricultural value chain.

“These investments are connected by a common purpose: we want more of the value generated by our agricultural resources to remain within our economy,” he stated.

The governor called for stronger collaboration among federal and state governments, development partners and the private investor, noting that agricultural transformation depended on coordinated investments in production, processing, infrastructure and market access.

“Enugu is open for agribusiness. We have fertile land, a strategic location connecting the South East with other parts of Nigeria, a young and enterprising population, and a government committed to supporting productive investment.

“We welcome partnerships with other states, federal institutions, development agencies and private enterprises that share our ambition,” he concluded.

In his remarks, Kyari said the Federal Government was implementing various interventions to improve agricultural productivity, protect farmers’ incomes and strengthen food security.

He disclosed that the National Agricultural Development Fund’s Farm Input Support Programme had reached more than 115,000 beneficiaries across 25 states and the FCT, while the fund had disbursed ₦16.27 billion through agribusiness financing facilities.

The minister added that the Bank of Agriculture had financed more than 500,000 smallholder farmers, while the second phase of the Renewed Hope National Agricultural Mechanisation Programme was expected to deliver an additional 1,500 tractors and more than 8,000 complementary pieces of equipment.

He stressed the importance of strengthening commodity supply chains to ensure that agricultural production translated into dependable raw materials for industries and affordable food for consumers.

Kyari said Nigeria’s economy grew by 4.43 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, with agriculture recording 4.39 per cent growth and contributing 26.15 per cent of real Gross Domestic Product.

In his remarks, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Dr. Kingsley Udeh, SAN, thanked Governor Mbah for successfully hosting the programme, saying the 48th Regular Meeting on Agriculture and Food Security would shed light on both Enugu State’s agro-industrialisation policies and initiatives and the Federal Government’s milestones in the agricultural sector.

“The reforms and agricultural transformation of the state and federal governments are enough to commend both Governor Mbah and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term in office,” he stated.

Earlier, the Enugu State Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Dr. Patrick Ubru, said the state was repositioning its agricultural sector from subsistence production towards a commercially driven and agro-industrialised economy.

He disclosed that agriculture and agro-industrialisation were expected to contribute $12 billion to the state’s $30 billion economic target by 2031, pledging the state government’s support for federal agricultural interventions through the provision of warehouses for storing and distributing farm inputs, as well as facilities for agricultural programmes and capacity-building activities.

In his vote of thanks, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, urged stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of the resolutions reached at the meeting, stressing that stronger collaboration remained essential to building a productive and competitive agricultural sector.

The programme was also attended by the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Ben Nwoye; Chairman of APC in Enugu State, Dr. Martin Chukwunwike; Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Uche Ugwu; Secretary to the Enugu State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia; Head of Service, Dr. Godwin Anigbo; among others.

Side attractions at the event included exhibitions of food products and agricultural equipment, which were also toured by Governor Mbah and other dignitaries.

The International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos, has urged journalists and online publishers to strengthen fact-checking, professional ethics, accountability and inclusive reporting ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The centre also called on media organisations to move beyond partisan political coverage and prioritise issues affecting citizens, including insecurity, unemployment, education, healthcare, electricity, transportation and access to public services.

The call was made during a two-day media interface with the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) and editors and publishers on the Democratic Scorecard (Enugu State Edition), held from November 4 to 5, 2026, at BON Hotel Platinum, Independence Layout, Enugu.

The initiative was organised under the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN) programme, aimed at strengthening the capacity of journalists in credible electoral reporting, combating corruption and promoting informed citizen participation in democratic processes.

Speaking at the workshop, the Executive Director of IPC, Dr Lanre Arogundade, represented by the programme manager, Stella Nwofia, stressed the need for journalists to prioritise accuracy over speed, uphold professional standards and hold political office holders accountable through credible and independent reporting.

He urged online publishers and editors to ensure inclusive electoral coverage by giving adequate attention to women, young people, persons living with disabilities, internally displaced persons and other underrepresented groups.

Arogundade observed that while digital platforms had expanded opportunities for information sharing and public participation, they had also accelerated the spread of misinformation, manipulated content, hate speech and divisive narratives.

He, therefore, urged online publishers to strengthen their fact-checking and verification skills, particularly when reporting politically sensitive issues, warning against the pressure to break stories at the expense of accuracy.

He maintained that fact-checking and verification must remain integral to responsible electoral journalism rather than optional additions to the profession.

The IPC executive director also emphasised the need to protect the safety and professional independence of journalists, insisting that media practitioners must be allowed to discharge their legitimate responsibilities without intimidation, harassment or unlawful interference.

In a presentation titled, “2027 General Elections in the Context of Democratic and Accountability Reporting: Scanning the Electoral Environment and Reporting Citizens’ Priority Concerns,” Professor Ifeoma Dunu, Director of UNIZIK Radio, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, challenged journalists to place citizens’ interests at the centre of electoral reporting rather than focusing predominantly on politicians and their activities.

Dunu observed that media coverage often gives prominence to political rallies, campaign promises and party differences, while critical issues affecting ordinary citizens receive insufficient attention.

She urged journalists to interrogate campaign promises, scrutinise government budgets, track the implementation of public projects and evaluate the performance of elected officials.

She identified insecurity, unemployment, education, healthcare, electricity, transportation and access to public services as key issues that should dominate the media agenda ahead of the 2027 elections.

The university don also highlighted the importance of monitoring the electoral, legal, political, institutional, economic, social inclusion, public service, security and information environments to ensure comprehensive electoral coverage.

Another presentation, delivered by Mr Olusola Oludiran, focused on fact-checking and the utilisation of digital tools in journalism.

Oludiran examined the growing challenge of misinformation, manipulated information and artificial intelligence-generated content, stressing the importance of verification and responsible dissemination of information in protecting public trust and the credibility of the media.

The workshop also examined the Democratic Scorecard as a tool for measuring democratic performance and strengthening accountability.

Participants were encouraged to scrutinise the obligations of public institutions, examine the management of public resources and budgets, monitor government promises against actual delivery and assess government interventions through measurable outcomes.

The engagement further emphasised the importance of community participation and sustained investigations into citizens’ concerns, urging journalists to translate public priorities into editorial decisions and consistent accountability reporting.

In her opening remarks, Nwofia acknowledged the importance of the capacity-building initiative, noting that the growing demand for speed and visibility in online publishing sometimes undermined accuracy.

She observed that many online publishers in Enugu were experienced journalists who had moved from established media organisations to establish their own platforms, making continuous professional development necessary.

She expressed optimism that the training would improve participants’ professional capacity, create better opportunities for online publishers in the state and strengthen their visibility in the national media space.

Nwofia urged participants to take the lessons seriously, share the knowledge acquired with their staff and incorporate the best practices into their daily newsroom operations.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the Corporate Online Chapel of the NUJ, Enugu State Council, Clinton Umeh, pledged that online publishers in the state would translate the lessons from the workshop into improved newsroom practices.

Umeh described the initiative as an important intervention for independent online media practitioners, many of whom had acquired years of experience in established media organisations before establishing their own platforms.

He acknowledged the intense competition for speed and visibility in digital publishing, noting that the pressure to break stories first could sometimes compromise accuracy.

He said the training would help participants consolidate their existing knowledge, improve their professional output and strengthen the visibility of Enugu-based online publishers.

Umeh particularly welcomed the opportunity for practitioners in the state to benefit from professional exposure and networking opportunities available to online publishers in major media centres such as Lagos and Abuja.

He assured the organisers that participants would put the knowledge acquired into practice and extend its benefits to their employees and other members of their respective organisations.

The NUJ chapel chairman also noted that independent online publishers largely depend on their capacity and productivity to earn a living, making professional competence and commitment essential to the sustainability of their media businesses.

He called for the continuation of similar interventions, stressing that opportunities to interact with media practitioners across the country would promote networking, collaboration and professional growth.

Arogundade, in his remarks, urged participants to make the engagement practical by sharing experiences from their respective media organisations, asking critical questions and developing ideas that would improve electoral reporting across print, broadcast and online platforms.

He said the success of the engagement should not be measured merely by the quality of discussions or the number of participants, but by the stories published, claims verified, citizens’ concerns amplified, accountability questions raised and professional standards upheld in the months leading to the 2027 elections.

He appreciated the NUJ Enugu State Council for supporting the engagement, as well as the resource persons who accepted the invitation to lead the deliberations. He also acknowledged the European Union for providing funding support for the project.

The Advocate reports that the initiative is expected to translate into stronger verification practices, more inclusive electoral coverage and sustained public-interest journalism as media organisations prepare for the 2027 general elections.

The Federal High Court in Abuja has nullified the leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) led by Senator David Mark, declaring its actions and decisions on behalf of the party invalid.

The ruling also affects the emergence of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar as the ADC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, as the party’s primary was conducted under the leadership declared unlawful by the court.

Atiku, whose name had earlier appeared on the list of presidential candidates published by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), had reportedly picked former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, as his running mate.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Peter Lifu declared unlawful the caretaker committee led by Mark, which organised the party’s presidential primary that produced Atiku as its candidate.

The judgment followed a suit filed by Nafiu Bala Gombe, a former ADC National Deputy Chairman (North-East), who challenged the process through which the Mark-led group assumed control of the party.

Gombe argued that following the resignation of the former National Chairman, Chief Ralph Nwosu, he was constitutionally entitled to assume leadership of the party.

He consequently approached the court, seeking to invalidate the activities and decisions taken by the Mark-led leadership on behalf of the ADC.

The defendants in the suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025, included the ADC, INEC, Senator David Mark, former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola, and Chief Ralph Nwosu.

The plaintiff also sought an order restraining Mark and Aregbesola from parading themselves as the party’s National Chairman and National Secretary, respectively, insisting that their appointments violated the ADC constitution and relevant provisions of the Electoral Act.

Justice Lifu upheld the plaintiff’s arguments and granted the reliefs sought.

The decision is expected to trigger fresh political uncertainty within the ADC, particularly as political activities intensify ahead of the January 16, 2027 presidential election.

However, the party has indicated its intention to challenge the judgment at the Court of Appeal.

The ADC National Welfare Secretary, Nkemakolam Ukandu, who was subsequently joined in the proceedings as an interested party, confirmed that the party would appeal the ruling.