No need to panic, we have food in Nigeria – Audu Ogbeh reassures

– Audu Ogbeh has reassured Nigerians about the food situation in the country

– Ogbeh said that measures were in place to ensure there would be no famine

– SSA to the president on media, Garba Shehu recently warned that Nigeria risked famine

Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Nigerian minister of agriculture and rural development has reassured Nigerians that the federal government has put necessary measures in place to prevent hunger and famine in the country.

Explaining the measures put in place, on Tuesday, November 22,  Ogbeh said: “There will be no hunger. It is just that there is heavy export of our grains to North, West and Central Africa. However, we are taking steps to ensure enough food in the next harvest.”

Earlier the senior special assistant to President Buhari on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, had said that it was likely that Nigeria, the largest producer of cereals could face a famine from early next year, 2017,  following the huge demand in the global market.

READ ALSO: Buhari wants to kill us with hunger? Outrage over Buhari’s plan to contest 2019 election

Speaking at a radio interview in Kano, he explained that the demand for Nigeria’s grains in the global market was causing “the mindless exports of Nigeria’s food across the borders.”

If this continued he had explained, it would lead to a huge shortage of grains in Nigerian markets by January 2017.

However, Ogbeh says this is not so, that the FG was working to develop and establish more dams and lakes to aid irrigation farming to have three harvests within one year.

The minister also assured Nigerians that the preservation of excess grains have been put into account, he said the gvernment had provided no fewer than 33 silos with capacity to store over four million tonnes of grains.

Assuring all Nigerians, he siad: “The long term answer to that is to develop more dams and lakes for irrigation so that we have three harvests a year and if West Africa wants food from us, we sell to them.

“We do not have to panic. We have the means to preserve these grains. We have 33 silos, the total capacity of nearly four million tonnes so, we have enough. However, we are taking steps; we are assuring Nigerians that there will be no hunger.

“That is why we are here, there will be no need to panic about hunger or famine.”

READ ALSO: See how farmers and market women are suffering in Ogoniland

Meanwhile, a Vitalis Kawunda Lee Odikamnoro from Kaduna state, who claimed to serve in the Nigerian military, sent photos, complaining of poor feeding of the men in the military.

He wrote: “People make talk true till now we never shop and we are fighting Boko Haram. Good people of mine. If we talk army go say cut marshal him.

“Just know for personal effort we just finished cooking Indomie. See what we are eating not OK no meat. And we are soldiers fighting for our country.

“That is why soldiers leave the work. Hunger will kill us. Rather I leave the work. Suppression of hunger leads to death. Please make UN help us. See food. Three times in day for us.”

Here is a video of the UN warning about famine in Nigeria:

The post No need to panic, we have food in Nigeria – Audu Ogbeh reassures appeared first on Nigeria News today & Breaking news | Read Naij.com 24/7.