The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has clarified report on social media, suggesting that a recent staff prayer session was an official strategy to address national food security challenges.
The Minister while speaking to ControlTV in a phone conversation today said that the internal prayer initiative was not meant to replace or undermine the significant and ongoing efforts towards achieving food and nutrition security for Nigeria.
Earlier, a press statement signed by Assistant Information Officer, Ezeaja Ikemefuna for the Director, Information, said the prayer initiative—titled “Divine Intervention for Protection and National Development” was organised internally by the Human Resource Management Department in response to the recent untimely deaths of several staff members.
The statement said: “The prayer was to address the apprehensiveness of staff over the recent untimely and successive deaths of management staff members of the Ministry.”
According to the statement, “Staff also deemed it not out of place to pray for the country.”
It also emphasized that the move was not part of any formal policy directive but rather one of several welfare initiatives—alongside monthly aerobic sessions and a recently established gym, aimed at staff members’ well-being.
The Honorable Minister Abubakar KYARI told us that crying more than the Bereaved is unpatriotic and painting the ministry in bad light to erode confidence
Mr. Kyari highlighted a range of programmes being implemented under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
These, the ministry said, included:
● Deployment of over 1,000 tractors to support mechanized farming;
● Distribution of over 100,000 metric tonnes of grains and rice for market stabilization;
● Donation of 2.15 million bags of fertilizer by the Central Bank of Nigeria to tackle food inflation;
● Recapitalization of the Bank of Agriculture to the tune of ₦1.5 trillion;
● Launch of the National Electronic Extension Platform (NEEP) to modernize farmer outreach;
● Ongoing $600 million World Bank-backed rural roads rehabilitation project (RAAMP); and,
● Distribution of critical inputs to farmers through the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP).
The Ministry also disclosed its partnership with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to improve farmer data integrity and access to resources.
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