Niger Commissioner of Agric. debunked viral insinuation of missing tractors
Niger State commissioner for Agriculture, Musa Salihu Bawa Bosso said no single tractor was missing after a media post trending on social media insinuating theft of about twenty tractors.
The Commissioner Who was making clarification to debunked the post that had gone viral insinuating that some of the tractors procured by the administration of Farmer Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago for its agricultural programme, were sited in Kaduna heading towards Zaria and Kano.
The commissioner, Hon. Musa Bawa who spoke to journalists at the Ahmed Bola Tinubu International Airport Minna, Tuesday, where the tractors were parked, said the social media post was mischievous and aimed at tarnishing the good work of the administration.
While taking journalists round the site, the commissioner disclosed that over 400 tractors out of the 1000 procured by the government from United States of America, were on the ground and none was missing.
He urged the public to disregard the post as it was mischievous and intended to mislead members of the public.
He disclosed that the delay in putting the tractors to use wasn’t intentional, saying that the state government was waiting for information from the Nigerian Metrological Agency (NiMet) to flag off the farming season.
“The NiMet had not yet announced the start of the wet season farming. We’re still waiting for information regarding that. Once it is provided, government will flag off the farming season and the tractors will begin to be put to use”, he said.
Hon. Bawa Bosso said farming has become a huge business and said the state government was partnering with organisations that were ready to do business, explaining that Union Bank, Niger Foods and other partners were in the business of farming in the state and not just for grandstanding.
He said the 10,000 hecters of land already earmarked were under cultivation and coordinates taken to ensure proper monitoring and coordination of farming activities.
