The Chairman, Board of Directors, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Pius Akinyelure, has urged Nigerians to return to farming in order to solve the food scarcity in the country.
Akinyelure stated this on Saturday at his hometown in Idanre, Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo state at an event organised by Idanre Development Assembly to honour and celebrate reputable sons and daughters of the community.
According to the chairman of NNPC, one of the ways to face the current economic hardship was by going back to the farm.
He said “If we don’t go back to the farm, where will we get food? We will be importing and the cost of importation is too high. So the only way out is to go back to the farm, make sure there is security for the farmers so that they are not driven away from their farm and then we can have enough food to feed our nation.”
Stressing the importance of farming, the APC chieftain noted that refusing to go back to the farm “will result in us importing food which is very expensive due to the high cost of importation.”
He stressed that adequate security should be provided to ensure that farmers can cultivate their farms in peace and are not been driven away from their farms.
Akinyelure who expressed his gratitude for being celebrated said the event has also been used as an opportunity to inform the government about areas where the community was lagging in order to address the challenge.
In his remark, the Ondo State governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who was a special guest of honour at the occasion, said the award given to Akinyelure was a well deserved stressing that such an event would serve as a motivation for others to do well.
Aiyedatiwa noted that such a rare honour was bestowed only because the people of Idanre recognise Chief Akinyelure and the other celebrants worth and the many impacts they have made at local and national levels.
Stressing that Akinyelure’s legacy will be remembered for many years to come, the governor also praised his humanitarian services, noting that “the award serves as a lesson to everyone to serve their community, state, and nation selflessly.”
The chairman of the organising committee of the event, Mayorkun Akinmoladun said the event was mainly to appreciate the effort of their past heroes and living ones and to celebrate them.
He said, “Today’s event is very remarkable, we thank God for the lives of our aged ones, past heroes and living ones. We did this to appreciate what they have done, those in the past, to also encourage those that are still in office or in one capacity or the other to be able to do more for their community.”
