Governor Muhammad Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State has said he’s not behind the scarcity of fertilizer and its high cost in Nigeria.
Governor Badaru said as Chairman Presidential Committee on Fertilizer, he has not been in the knowledge of what exactly is happening with the commodity since he was not called to attend any meeting.
The governor dropped the hint while reacting to the complaint made by the North-West Inputs Agro Dealers Association (NIADA) that the presidential committee under him folded its arms and allowed Nigerian farmers to suffer from shortages of fertilizer in the country.
“I’m not aware of what is happening now in the committee as I was not called for its meeting or participated in any of its operations in the last two years,” he said.
Governor Badaru, who exonerated himself from the failure of the committee, insisted that when he was active in the committee, the success achieved was unprecedented.
The chairman maintained that only Chief of Staff of the federation Professor Ibrahim Gambari can give account or answer any question related to the committee activities of the last two years.
Earlier, the North-west Inputs Agro Dealers Association (NIADA), in collaboration with Farmers Association, had called on President Muhammad Buhari to dissolve the Presidential Committee On Fertilizer as it failed in delivering its mandate of making the commodity available and affordable to farmers in the country.
The chairman of NIADA, Jigawa State, chapter Alhaji Yusuf Baba Muhammad, who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Haro Shehu made the call, during a press conference held in Dutse capital of the state.
The group berated the Presidential Committee on Fertilizer for folding its arms allowing the fertilizer blending companies exporting the commodities to foreign countries and making more profits at the detriment of Nigerian farmers and national food security projects.
According to the group, the major fertilizer blending companies appear to be sabotaging presidential policy on agriculture by refusing to sell their products to the local dealers who deposited their money with companies some for over a year without giving the supply now.
He also accused the Presidential Committee on Fertilizer for failing President Buhari and the nation over the mandate given to them and appealed for the replacement of the committee with competent hands as a matter of urgency before food scarcity and hunger loomed in the country.