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Vanguard, FRIDAY, JUNE 3. 2011
BUSINESS/AGRICULTURE -!";!'>Z5TS7
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CONCERNED LAGOS INDIGENES KM 18 ITOKIN ROAD, MAYA, IKORODU, LAGOS
AGRA, USDA sign MOU 00 African food security By JIMO" BABATUNDE with ag!'ncy reports
OR having existing F inirastructure and growpolicies,
development activities. Signed by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and AGRA president, Dr. Namanga Ngongi, the MOU includes AGRAand USDA joint efforts to promote seed development and soil enhancement, reduce crop loss, manage water resources, improve .data collection, develop farmer
ing conditions in agriculture, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Tanzania and Mozambique, will benefit from a ' Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, signed recently by !he Alliance for a Green Revolution in training prQgrammes, A1r\ca, AGRA. and !he create market information United States Department systems, and improve of Agriculture, USDA. human capacity and foodThe MOU signed in related infrastructure in Washington is to explore Africa. ways to )J.elp smallholder "Investing in agricuiture farmers in Africa 'through is !he surest pa!h to help coo rdinat ed research, reduce poverty, accelerate exchanges, training and . wider economic and social
Pre-season training for extension workers will ' boost agric activities -Agency ADUNA State K A:gricultural Development Programme, . KADP, sa.;d; Tuesday, !hat !he pre-season training for
extension workers would be be disseminated to farmers. Our extension staff wo uld also enlighten farmers on how to add
eXtension workers would
value to their farm produce
improve agricultural activities in tlle state. Mr Shehu Aliyu, !he KADP Head of Media Unit said !he training was a refresher course for the extension workers and
aimed at educating farmers on how to expand !he production of cotton and pepper in !he state. Aliyu noted !hat Kaduna, as a leading state in pepper and cotton production, would benefit significantly from !he training, adding: "TIris coUld be in !he area of... increased accessibility of new findings in me!hods of crop production unveiled by !he organisers to !he participants: . The knowledge acquired by !he
as well as teach !hem !he techniques of reducing !he cost of production."
ASSESSMENT OF MINISTERIAL NOMINEES P..~Ii\M@~~
development, boost wom-
en's influ'e ncewithin their societies, and provide n ew
opportunities for business. USDA has a weal!h of expertise in many critical areas of agriculture development, _and tlris agreement will enable us to share'that knowledge and resou,rces to benefit small-
holder farmers across .! be entire food value chain in Africa," said Dr. Ngongi. "The inter-related challenges of global food securiry- are more pressing now than ever," said
Vilsack. "Agricultural development is tile key to unlocking
increased
incomes and combating poverty for nrillions of people and many nations. And :!his partner~,l).ip announCed today between AGRA and USDA will enable ' us to deliver reaI results for hungry people around !he world." The MOU will be in effect for fjve years. AGRA and USDA Will initially focus on increasing food production in African. breadbasket regions.
Tse tse fly: Scientists identify livestock genes to unlock protection international A N research team
u sing a new combination
of approaches has found two genes that may prove of vital importance to tile lives and livelihoods of
United States. The team's res ults were published recently in the Proceedings of !he National Academyo!,gciences (PNAS). , The
r~search ,
aimed at
finding !he biological keys to protection from a single-celled trypanosome parasite !hat causes bo!h, African sleeping sickness in people 'and a wasting disease in cattle, brought chall~nges toge!her a range of hightech tools and field observations to address a me.n t opportunity for Nige-. critical .affliction: of some By P.RINCEWILL of ' tile world's poorest rians, noting !hat !he introEKWUJURU duction of·tile cage system . people. ~ Ministry of Water Witl1 increased would be a new advantage 1. R.e sou r c e s , for 'sustainable fish supply surveillance and control, MaWR, has said !he prob- .in !he .country. sleeping sickness lems associated wi!h fish infections in people have Igali who congratulated farming will soon be over, dropped ten-fold in !he bo!h companies for being if !he Aoating Ash Cage last 13 years, from : an !he first in Africa to develop System by Vitapur Nigeria estimated 300,000 cases a and promote tlris technoloLinrited in association wi!h year in 1998 to some gy also applauded !he Talon Nigeria Limited is 30,000 ,In 2009 , wi!h !he Ministry of Agriculture, adopted by fish fimners in disease eventually killing Department of Fisheries !he country. more tilan half ' of !hose for supporting ' !he first Director, Ministry Of iniected. prototype, whilst he recomWater Resources, Samuel Altilough b est-known for mended !hat !he technoloOjeka, who represented gy be deployed to ali water. causing human sleeping Amb. Godknows Igali, Permasses of Nigeria. . sickness, the trypanosome manent Secretary, Minisparasite 's most Meanwhile, Mr. Oluwole try Of Water Resources., at Adisa, Managing Director ' devastating blow . :t o !he unveilingof!he Aoathuman weUare com·es·.~in of Vitapur Nigeria, said !he ing Cage System in Lagos, an animal form, wi!h sh;k. lIoating Fish cage will help said ihe niinistry has over unproductive cattle resolve !hi! prohlems asso!he years ol;lserved !he costing mil,,;d ' crop-liveciated wi!h .tile construc,__ .,.··rising cost of importing stock farmers and tion and' ,maintenance of . poor quality fish at great ,!he 'earlhen ponds which livestock herders huge 'foreign exc!lange and witil losses and opportunities. costs have been horrendous serious iosses of employ- . far fish farmers in Nigeria. " millions of farmers in a
tsetse fly-plagued swa!he of Africa !he size of !he
Cage Syste.m: MOWR .fish farmers, lauds Vltapur, Talon
Recentlv. the Federal Government made public a list of ministerial nominees from all states of the Federation. We want to thank His Excellency, Or. Goodluc.k Jonathan, GCFR. President and Co(T1mander·jn..mief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, regarding the ministerial list for lagos. We are particularly delighted that this time the iS$uesof fairn ess and constitutionalilywas st rictly adhered to, by dropping finance Minister Dr. Olusegun Aganga.
ASSESSMENT Based on our Indepth knowledge of the ministerial nominees from lagos, we hereby publish our perceived pe.digree of th e Individuals, b3sed on facts available' to LIS.
A!!.~.P-'l~~1iM.!!. Young, upwardly mobile a"d well read, he was the gubernatorial candidate of the POP in lagos during the recent elections, where he lost woefully to Govemor Babatunde Fashola of the ACN, bY 'o ver 1 million votes. His stint, in public office have been rather controversial . At NIMASA, whe~e he was OG, Dosunmu left the institution with little or no impact, as attested to by the present senate. He is also not see n as a team plav.er.· Verdict: has poor human relations. .
· SETOf>lJ1 KOSHOEDO He isan Arcliitect by profession and the current state chairman of the POP. He was elected a member of the HO;Jse .of Reps in 2003*2007 on the' platform of the party. The Badagry local Govt where he hails from, is seen as a stronghold of the PDP; Koshoedo was made the chairman . of the party. despite protests that he lacked the experience and charisma to lead it. Il is on record that Koshoedo recorded the worst defeat-for the Lagos POP, as he failed to navigate the party, with the necessary tact and e)(perience. Under his leadershIp, the only House of Assembly member from his area, defected t~ the ACN. All the gains reco'rded by the party recently were lost as the Lagos PDP fa!'ed woefully in the Govefnorship, National Assembly, and Ho use of Assembly elections, desp'ite the glaring in adequacies of the ACN . Is equally NIL His crisis management is.zero.
OLATUNDE SHEll E · He is a ret.ired Naval officer. He also came on board the -lagos PDP e)(ecutive despite protests that he lacked the political experience to steer the ship of the office . Critics say a major stain on his cll!dentials is the failure he recorded at the lltgos Stale FerrY services which he o nce headed. In fact, as at the time 5helle was leaving, the ferry services corpor~ tion was virtuallv dead, Today. the same ferrji services the Naval officer left behind is being hailed as one of the greatest achievements of the Fashola led ACN governme nt. Throughout lagos, new jetties are being built and more ferries coming on stream, to the i::Ielight of lagosians. The Question on the lips of many is, if Shelle can fall in his are a of competenc~. where will he excel? Additionally, while many are still at a loss over the Lagos POP recent outing, its backbone Koshoedo and Shelle h3ve abandoned the parr( for ministerial positions . It is obvious that this makes rio sense, as no other state POP has embarked on this desperate venture. even as thei r tenure expiresi" March 20U.
MOSHOODSAlVADOR 'An astute businessman and former member of the House of Representatives rrom 1999' 2003, Salvador holds two masters degrees in Business Administration and Political science. He was the Senatorial candidate for lagos west -PIJl':""lie proveDliOokmakers right, when heshowed his pedrg~ee as the party's best candidate along'side Secun Adewale, POP House of Reps in Allmosho local GO\lt. His major weakness is his seeming blind loyalty lo whatever he believes In. This, obse·rvers beliey~ Is what has robbed him of what he ought to have been politically. Despite tempting offers from senator 80la Tinubu around years 2000 and 2002, he chose to remain with his leader, Alhaji Ganlyu Dawodu, who was the leader of Afenifere, to the detriment of his political career. A stickler for e)(celler.ce, 'Salvador proved his mettle when he resolved the Industrial.crises in the maritime sector in 2004/5 when he ventured into stevedoring. Today, his Salvador Towers (Former Eri~ Moore Towers) is one of the most sought afte r Estates in the country. A unifying forte. he is perhaps the only PDP leader who relates with all stake holders in the State. I\~M!,I2AIJII.A~,~N IW91!.!!A
· Uttle is known about this politician In the political fi rmament of lagos, though the Epe ·bom politician claims to have been atound since the days of the Unity Party of Nigeria IUPN). Abaniwonda is however well read ClOd Is said to be an Accountant. He instantlv came Into the news when he defeated veteran politician and bUSinessman, Chief lanre Ralak, a former National Chairman of.•the All Nigeria n peoples party (ANPP), to clinch the lagos East PDP senatorial ticket. However, the ticket proved to be3lbalross, as hewas said to ha\le failed to reconcile with Ra.zak, a former Commissioner forTransport. after the party primaries. This eventually led to Ralakdecamping to the rul:ng ACN, alongside a maj~r factor in the area and former House of Reps me-mber, Han Tunde Salau, who led hundreds of party members to theACN.
IQ.lI\!;J!lANIMM!!A.IiJi The news of his emergence hit many like tbunderbolt. given the pedigree of Mrs Olureml TInubu, wife of the National leader of the ACN. Senator Bola TInubu, who was his main Challenger during the electioneering period. ' Many had expected him to show that he W3S a better alternative to Mrs Tinubu, whose ambition was seriously threatened by rumours that the ACN was being tumeciinto a family party, but Anlmasbaun was nowhere to be (ound. Even at his polling centre, defeat seriously stared him in the face. as he appeared relatively unknown to the electorate. Meanwhile, hOld he taken adva ntage of a meeting summoned by a popular female lagos chief on the Island to impress it on much more experienced politician, from an eQuallyfc'rmidable party, to step down for him, his story might have better told. InsiderS say he lacks political experience.
a
.ftO,QE OYEDEU
.
He became an instant"celebrrty after the POP won the IbeJu ~lekkl House of Rep, Bye-Election. Oyedele, an HNO holder and former Adviser to President.Olusegun Obasanjo was the leader of the lattos PDP electioneering campaign, thereby taking crucia l decisions on behalf of the party. But critics say his choice was perhaps the party's greatest undoing. They hinged this on the faclthat Dyedele won an 'election', without the party's main challenger (ACN) which disqualified from fielding a candidate. Aside this, Ibeju l ekkllG where he claims to be a factor, 'anaiysts say, tannot stand an empirical test, as it is less than the size of many wards in lagos State. His world outlook may be a challenge in seeking a ministerial pOSition, however he Is the only nominee with a HND. ~
was
!lILD.!iIi.ttMM."
A former permanent secretary In the Fer, he is seen an 'outsider' In t3g0S POP. This Is because even in lagos Mainland, where he says he claims toh3iUrom, nobody seem to know the man who retired from the civil service a · vearago. Already, many party members are saying he is from Iperu Remo, Ogun State, and should therefore go to his state to seek nomination, and allow true lagosians represent them in Abuja.
$_Q!AOJAO.Ilf!!J!.Q A notable member of the l agos POp, she has been 'around since 1998 when the party came into existence. She wields enormous weight around the corridors of power within the south~west POP. Currently. she is a member of the current exeo of the party In lagos. Oladeinbo. who is said to hold a masters degree has been particularlvactive In mobilizing the womenfolk.
' TANINAOluS! A. former diairman of the o';\muwo Odofhi local Government. she used to be pop_ular in lagos Politics. But all that seem to have changed, as many do not even know that she is a POP member:. Others however say that she is more of
AeN th~n POP, and even enjoys patronage from the ACN . Currently, she is on the board of lagos Slate Pilgrims · Board cOl;lrtesy Gov'e rnor FashoJa.. The loss of her polling booth to the ACN seem to have confirmed, that as the party swept the votes during the last elections. While she mi~ht be said to have some public service experience, herloyaltyto the PDP mOlY be her greatest undoing. ' . lAill.ll'H: .
· It Is a thing ofjov that since the release ofth.e ministerlanist l3goslans have queued behind the nominees. Unlike states IJke Ekltl, Osun and Ogu~, the gtadl~tors wlthln:the lagos POP ~ave remained one. l et the spirit continue. The challenge is now for presidentJonatfian to pick somebody w~owill be acceptable to him and the people of lagos.
I'
SIGNED
, Chief DOI.po SOruml (Rep. of Epe DWI'io~) ,',BoIi)1 Doherty, (liep. of Ilcejo Division) AJh*jl·KoIapo 0)11wtu (llep. of Indigenes AsSOC1atlon) . Chief R.IUI _ IRe . 0' [0 Chi"'} Apostlo S. A'WHlla .... (Rep. o,lbll. G,oup) , -- .. . . p , gm <" Seyf ~ (lkp. of Iko,odu'OIvISlon) . Chief A. 0 . 'Aihojtnu (Sodogry [eode,
.