Ovia, Visafone boss donates N1 bn to flood victims he Chainnan of Visafone
TTelecommurucatlon, Jun
Ovia has donated N 1 billion to the flood relief fund launched last week by PrCSldent Goodluck Jonathan. Besides, the former Managing Director
of Zeruth Bank prolUJsed L~at
Visafone would set up
emergency call centers across the country to curtail futurenatural dlaaster like 800ding.
The huge commitments made by Viaafone ....-as pan of the on-gemg efforts at generating funds for the rehabwtation of VICtimS of the recent flood disaster across the country, The Ovia's N I
billion donation has effectively put the telecoms company at a vantage position
lUI
a corporate
orgarusauon that understands the concept of given back to the soc:u:ty and make Nigeria a better platt (or all.
While implonng other corpoTate Organizauons not to be left out in the Jomt task of proYlding relief for the \;ctJms, Ovia &ald. -We have made our bumble donanoe
and .-e are still looking at other areas of assistance we can render. ptans are afoot tov."&J"ds setting up emergency call centres to mitigate the effect of future occurTellCC.
Smce it"s a natural occurrence, ma," not be able to stop It but at "least, lessen the effect on both the people and our enVU"Onmcnt through umely action ..111ch the call centers can facilitate.· It would be recalled that an reapon~ to the disaster, the FedClll Govcnmcnt, as a atop-gap measure, announced the dlsbUTSement of NSOO million to the highly Lmpacted atates, N300 milbon to the moderately impacted ones and H200 million to the least impacted states, to enable them cushion the effects of the flooding Thereafter, It ~t up a 34-man Presldenual Committee on flood Rd.i.ef and Rehabilitauon co-cluured by Aliko Dangote and Obsa Agbakoba which organized III AbuJa, a dInner to I"B.l!le fund for the \-;ctims of the ftooding during which over NIl billion 'Uo"8S reahzed. Dangote v.'lUI however the highest donor With a donauon of N2.5 bilhon Ch,a amd hiS donauon was informed b)' the need to suppon government m the onerous task of resettling the affected ciuzen who arc currently sheltered an different camps in the states. He explained that the vicums haVIng ba:n dtsplaced ,,"'Ould be psycbolDglca1Jy traumatized as a rHwt of the untold mlSCf)' and that 1t Iwa the responsibility of fcUow 'A'C
Nigerians to hdp them in this orne ofnced According to bim, millions of our compatriots are C\lJTmtly grappling with the rea.lJty of havmg lost thor homes, farmlands and sources of livelihood to the Hood and ow- narural lDSunct IS for all to rally round them for succour and to alleviate thor suffering. The Visafone founder pomted out that sance the Federal GO\'C:nUDent had led the path towards the victims' n:mteg:rauon, It beho\'cs on other weU-mearung Nigerians to follow swt and contribute to the fund to help thelT kmsmen at this moment of discomfort. Meanwhile, the labour and the Orgaruzed Private Sector have commended the gesture of Visafone 10 partakmg In the relld efforu describmg It as a good development which should be emulated by other tdecommurucauon companies Henry Okechun'U of the cement sector of the Manufacturer Associauon of Nigeria (MAN) said the donauon by Visafone ..-ould go a long way Ul assisting the F100d Relief Committee reahze Its mandate of proVIding succor to the Vlcums. In his own comment, TaJudeen Abegunde of the lron and Sted Union lauded Visafone as the only visible telecommunicauon company during the fund raising saying it only goes to show that Visafone has displayed unparalld patriotism as an indigenous company that IS ready to poslUvdy affect the people and environment withm which it operates. -It will be good If other telecom companies can follow Vlsafone's example and donate generously to aJll:viate the pams of the victims of the ftood disaster", he stated,
Agric agency engages 610,000 farmers for dry season farming
T
he Sokoto Rima Rh'C:f Basm Development
AuthOrity (SRRBDAI has engaged 610,000 farmen at its Talala Mafara irrigauon slle m Zamfara to boost dry season farming The Man&glng Director of SRRBDA. Halidu Yusuf, stated this at the Talata Mafara ungation SJte last v..-eek dunng the launch of wheat production and the 2012/2013 dry season ope:Tations for the year He said the launch lII.'BS the outcome of a two-year transforTllauon programme of the authont)' towards the eradication of poverty and mcreased food producuon for the .-dlbctng of the people,
Yusuf recalled that the proJCC1 culuvated 11,000 hectares in 20 I I and produced a large quanuty of rice and wheat through double farming, which had encouraged the project to invest more for the year. He said other food crops, such as cowpea, sweet potato, maize and beans would be culuv&ted on the land In the current season through tnple cropping by farming commumues m Mafara, Maradun and Bakura local government areas He 5a1d the authonty had acocpted to tnlin 50 youths, sent by the FedCflll O(J\'er'D1Dent, m unproved wheat production during the
""son He appealed to the Federal Government to conunue to buy more (amung cqwpment, herb lodes and other implements to ensure sustamability of the scheme and ensure mcreased agnculrural production. Sunilarly, the Federal Muusuy of Water Resources has said that II, 000 hectares of land ",-ould be utilised at the &kolon Irrigabon prOJect in Zam!ara for dry season operation. It was learnt that the irrigauon scheme has the potential of irrigating 23,000 hectares while only 4,000 hectares wc:n:: utilised In 20 I 1. The Minister or Water Resources, Sarah Ochekpe, made thiS knov."Tl at the launching or wheat production and the flag of 2012/2013 dry season farmmg on Thursday 10 Talala Mafara, Zamrara State Ochekpe S8Jd that the ObJective of the event v.'8S to encourage farmers to take ad\'anLage of ungauon projects to boosl food produclJon in the country ·We still have 12,000 hectares still left to be developed; many more can come on board, the launching p of the project shows that Nlgcna has a lot of potential to create JObs
through UTigation, ·We want to suswn this development for some couple of years until we ~ able to put the whole 23,000 hectares mto use, ~ a lot of youths out there thmking thc:n:: are no Jobs, can take the opporturuty or the UTlgaUon schemes to go IIllO farming and empower themselves. According to her, the Federal Government IS giving emphasis to 'Uo'heat and rice production to reduce the unpon&oon or such crops. The minister said: -I am aware that one or the major complaints of the wheat fanners IS market for their produce .• I would like to assure them that government has machmef), that the)' are encouraged to produce mon: by ensunng there will not be glut. ·Government In conJunction .,th the pnvate enterpnses m the IPlnt of Public Pnvate Partnersh1p will be invoilled in unprmmg the value cham of these crops" The event, she said was part of the Federal GO\'erruDent's eIron to boost food production in order to mitigate some of the food shortage that might occur due to the recenl floodmg m parts
of the country, In his address, Gov Abdul-Az1z Abubakar of Zamfara said that as pan of agricultural mitiatlVes, his admmlstrauon mtroduced a special irrigation scheme in 2011 Under the programme, the governor S8Jd that 1,000 tube wells and wash bores as 'Uo'ell as 1,000 v.'Bter pumps for irrigation fanning had been prOVIded He S8Jd the programme bad been specially designed to target \"8St array of peasant rannmg communities across the state 'Uo,th a VIew to malcing dry season rarmmg re~:arding, -Based on the report we hBVt': rec;c:Jvcd 110 far, the pilot PfUJcct5 has been oveT\\'he1mingly succcufw. !he lkauty of thiS programme IS that all the required Inputs, seeds, seedlings, fertihsen and agro chemicals were given to farmers on loan. ·Repayment 'Uo-ould be made through rajsing of improved seedlIngs of economic trees that ....,ould be planted to address the menace of desert encroachment and genctate mcome to the farmers" he added. The governor t.hanked the Federal Government for alIOCBUng three nee mills to the state, noung that the state government had indenufied three sites of live hectarn; each for the proJttl. Also speaking. Halidu YUM, the Managmg DlTector, Sakoto Rima Ri\'cr Development Authont)o'. said the office ...."8S expected to revitai1!1e and culbllate tv.1ce or thrice the SIZC presently cultivated. "WIth the re-mtroducuon of wheat producuon. m&.1ZC, l\I.ut potatoes, CO\\'})C8 and other vegetables. \\'e an: putung a road map to'A1lrds doubling and m some cases tnpling cropping in the project. !hc:n::by, engaging Oller 610,000 people m the three local governments hosting the