FG Begins Pilot Implementation of Livestock

Following a €400,000 funding support from the Netherlands, the federal government has commenced talks with the Nasarawa State government for the kickoff of the pilot implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Plan (NLTP). The plan, which includes the establishment of grazing reserves across the country is seen as panacea to the current farmer-herder conflicts in the country. The implementation will also help the country maximise opportunities in the country’s over N30 trillion assets in livestock which had been neglected over the years. The Special Adviser to the President on Agriculture, Dr. Andrew Kwasari, who met with key state officials in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital recently, said it was important for the state to understand the requirements for the establishment of the Awe Grazing Reserve billed to be located in state as pilot project. The move came on the back of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed during the visit of President Muhammadu Buhari recently to the Netherlands, whereby the Dutch Investment Agency (RVO) approved a grant of about €400,000 to cover 50 per cent cost of the pilot startup of NLTP model in Nasarawa State for 30 pastoralist households with a start date of March, 2021. Kwasari, during the meeting with Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, Dr. Emmanuel Akabe and the State Commissioner for Agriculture and Water Resources, Allananah Otaki, said the engagement was to further ensure that the state livestock transformation team was fully understood the requirements for successfully implementing the pilot. He added that the pilot would serve as a proof of concept for the livestock sub-sector transformation process. In a statement, Communications Lead, FMARDPACE, Sandra Affun, Kwasari, who is also the Special Adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on Special Projects, further explained that the objective was to, “review in particular the project appraisal document for the startup site and ensure that the state team is clear on the roles and responsibilities of Nasarawa State senior management team of the state livestock transformation office and the project office”. However, Akabe welcomed the initiative in the state and pledged government’s support to make it a success. According to the deputy governor:” We are quite enthusiastic about this programme starting in Nasarawa state. We feel it is a great honor that Nasarawa State was picked to pilot this project.

“We as a state have resolved not only to be in charge but also in control. We want to own it and make Nasarawa an envy of other states because we are supposed to showcase not only Nasarawa State, but the whole of Nigeria.” He further assured the team of the support of the state governor in making the project a huge success. Under the current initiative, Cownexxion, the lead consultant in the bilateral collaboration, leading the Dutch Consortium, will serve as technical partner for the implementation of the NLTP pilot ranches in four states namely Nasarawa, Adamawa, Plateau and Gombe. In each of these states, a pilot farm, which will also serve as a training centre, will be developed. The statement added that Cownexxion will work with the federal and state governments led by Kwasari to implement the pilot initiative. James Emejo in Abuja

Tanzania swears in New President after sudden death of Magufuli

Tanzania swears in new president after sudden death of Magufuli Tanzania’s soft-spoken Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Friday was sworn in as the East African country’s first female president after the sudden death of John Magufuli from an illness shrouded in mystery. “I, Samia Suluhu Hassan, promise to be honest and obey and protect the constitution of Tanzania,” said Hassan, dressed in a black suit and red headscarf before dignitaries at a ceremony in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam. In her first public address as president, the 61-year-old leader announced 21 days of mourning for Magufuli and public holidays on March 22 and on March 25, the day the late president will be buried. “It’s not a good day for me to talk to you because I have a wound in my heart,” said Hassan. “Today I have taken an oath different from the rest that I have taken in my career. Those were taken in happiness. Today I took the highest oath of office in mourning,” she said, after being sworn in at 10am local time (07:00 GMT) on Friday. Hassan ascended to the presidency after President Magufuli’s death due to heart disease was announced by the government on Wednesday, more than two weeks after he was last seen in public. Magufuli’s absence since February 27 had fueled speculation about his health and sparked rumours he had contracted COVID-19, although officials had denied he was ill. According to Tanzania’s constitution, the vice president serves out the remainder of the term of a president

who dies in office. Magufuli, who was first elected in 2015, secured a second five-year term in polls in October last year. The constitution also states that after consultation with their party, the new president will propose a deputy, the choice to be confirmed by the votes of no fewer than 50 per cent of the National Assembly. “I’ve been speaking to people in Tanzania to get a sense of what she is about and what they’re telling me is that her leadership style is very different from the late president. They say she listens to counsel more and is not one to make unilateral decisions.” ‘Time to stand together’ Described as a softly spoken consensus builder, Hassan has become the country’s first female president and the first to be born in Zanzibar, the semi-autonomous island in the Indian Ocean that forms part of the union of the Republic of Tanzania. She said that Magufuli “who always liked teaching” had prepared her for the task ahead. “Nothing shall go wrong,” she said, urging all the country’s people to work to unite the nation. “This is the time to stand together and get connected. It’s time to bury our differences, show love to one another and look forward with confidence,” she said. “It is not the time to point fingers at each other but to hold hands and move forward to build the new Tanzania that President Magufuli aspired to,” she said, amid opposition claims about the cause of Magufuli’s death. Exiled opposition leader Tundu Lissu insists the president died of COVID-19. Hassan rose through the ranks over a 20-year political career from local government to the national assembly. A stalwart in the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), she was named Magufuli’s running mate in the 2015 presidential campaign. The pair were re-elected in October last year in a disputed poll marred by allegations of irregularities. Her leadership style is seen as a potential contrast from Magufuli, a brash populist who earned the nickname “Bulldozer” for muscling through policies and who drew criticism for his intolerance of dissent. Magufuli was a vocal COVID-19 sceptic who urged Tanzanians to shun mask-wearing and denounced vaccines as a Western conspiracy, frustrating the World Health Organization (WHO). President Hassan did not talk about coronavirus. “A lot of people are looking to see if she will change strategy. Magufuli had faced a lot of criticism for how he handled the disease. He never put the country in lockdown and never encouraged people to wear masks or sanitise,” she said. “People are waiting to see how she is going to deal with this disease and if she’s going to change the policy that had been in place by Magufuli.” Hassan’s swearing in will assuage opposition fears of a constitutional vacuum. “The VP has to be sworn in immediately,” opposition leader Zitto Kabwe told the media by phone from Dar es Salaam. “The constitution doesn’t allow a vacuum … I will be concerned if the day passes without her being sworn in.”