In the bid to increase Internally Generated Revenue in the state, the
Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has hinted of the coming
Commodity Board that will ensure that Osun ranks among the best cocoa
producers in Nigeria within the next two years.
He said the board will be under direct supervision of his office.
The governor, while meeting with Produce merchants in the state at the
Government House Banquet Hall in Osogbo Tuesday evening, stated that
with the new cocoa development initiatives in the state, fresh
revenues will be available to the state thus making the economy of the
state prosperous in 2016.
He told the produce merchants that the economic situation of the state
has been badly affected with the pillaging of the national treasury by
the previous administration.
Aregbesola added that the situation with the drop in oil prices and
the sharp reduction in the Federation Accounts from N1.2 trillion in
2012 to N369 billion in November allocations shared in December 2015
has reduced the running of government to little or nothing hence, the
need to look inward in increasing IGR.
The governor noted that the state will soon bounce back with the
identification of Sixty million Cocoa trees presently in the state,
adding that government henceforth will criminalise any action of
farmers and merchants that runs foul of government laws on cocoa.
He pointed out that government will soon be registering all farmers in
the state for easy implementation of government policies on
agriculture thus giving adequate room for monitoring and giving the
necessary support for farmers.
According to him, "To show the people of the state that we are ready
to face agriculture squarely in Osun, I am establishing a Commodity
Board that will be supervised directly from the office of the
governor.
"Our bags of cocoa in Osun will be branded with this; government will
be able to ensure that the quality of cocoa coming out of the state
meets international quality standards. When there was free money
coming from oil, no government was looking at what cocoa could bring
to the economy; we are back to the days where cocoa will be the main
stay of our economy in Osun," The governor emphasised.
Aregbesola hinted that Produce tribunals will be set up across the
state and that special colour will be given to vehicles transporting
cocoa within the state.
The Governor reminded produce merchants of the immense wealth that
cocoa alone brought to the Western Region and the good use to which
the revenues were put by the then governments.
The governor added that the State Executive Council meetings will be
held in rural areas where cocoa farming is thriving in the state for
about six months to one year after the formation of his cabinet.
Earlier, the Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Osun, Chief
Raheem Adeniji, stated that the association is ready to partner and
cooperate with government in her bid to revamp the cocoa farming in
the state.
He lamented the poor economic state the country has found itself with
the neglect of cocoa which he said was the backbone of the economy in
the 60s.
He identified the cancellation of Cocoa and Marketing Board by the
then military government as a setback for the industry in Nigeria.
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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