No fewer than seventeen persons have been confirmed dead following a boat mishap that occurred at Dandeji Village of Shagari Local Government Area of Sokoto State.

The Chairman of the local Council, Aliyu Dantani who confirmed the ugly incident, explained that 17 persons mostly boys and girls, have been confirmed dead while a few passengers escaped as local divers are still searching for some missing persons.

Locals said the boat was carrying over 40 girls and boys that went to fetch firewood at a nearby bush before the boat capsized causing the deaths

Aliyu Dantani added that the remains of the victims were evacuated by local divers and buried according to Islamic rites.

It would be recalled that between 2020 and 2023, at least four boat mishaps have been reported in Shagari Local Government Area, with different casualties figures reported.

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Sokoto state Governor  and the  former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Monday declared his intention to contest for President in 2023 under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Tambuwal made the announcement in Sokoto after a stakeholders’ meeting.

He explained that his decision was based on calls by the state chapter of the PDP, agreeing to begin a nationwide consultation in the pursuit of his ambition.

“I have listened to our party leaders, women and youths on the call that I should initiate and begin the process of consultations with a view of running and contesting for the President of Nigeria under the banner of our great party,” the governor said.

The former speaker continued “When members of the House of Representatives of the 7th Assembly approached with their desire for me to contest for the position of Speaker, I gave them certain conditions, one of which was that I have leaders –  late President Shehu Shagari, former Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko and two others in (Sokoto) state.

“I told them to go to my state and consult with these leaders. If they bless your initiative, I will accept your proposal and contest for the Speaker.

“When they came to Sokoto, President Shehu Shagari of blessed memory admonished them that: ‘if you are putting our son forward as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, your efforts must not be sectional or religious.”

Governor Tambuwal added that the direction of current political pursuits must be based on a genuine effort to produce a President for the benefit of Nigeria and Nigerians.

The post Tambuwal joins 2023 presidential race first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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The President stated this on Sunday during his condolence visit to Sokoto State over the death of Nigeria’s first executive President, Shehu Shagari where he condoled with the government and people of the state.

Buhari, who flew into the state capital in the morning and visited the residence of the late Shagari where he signed the condolence register.

He described the former president as the link between the country’s first-generation leaders and the present leadership.

The post FG to immortalise former President Shagari first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

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According to the Chairman of the party in the state, Alhaji Usman Sulaiman they are convinced of what Tambuwal has achieved as a governor so far, and will continue to support him to render more quality service to the people.

The Chairman stressed, “As a party, we will support him not only for second term but for third and fourth term if such would be allowed by the constitution. Governor Tambuwal has performed credibly well despite some challenges occasioned by the economic situation in the country,”

Also, the chairman added that other areas of achievements include payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities, revamping of the education sector, and the huge impact Tambuwal has made in the social sector.

“When we lost our indigenes in Saudi Arabia during the Hajj stampede, Tambuwal paid N500,000 to each of the families of the victims. That is the only support they got from the authorities. For that and many, we will be eternally grateful to the Governor,” he reiterated.

Sulaiman further described the opposition party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as a “mushroom” party which is desperately in need of salvation.

He queried, ” what do you call a party that cannot produce a single councilor? Is that one a party?”

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The group’s President , Aliko Dangote made this known at the weekend that the Company will on Wednesday, flag off with a pilot project of 500 ha by Gonroyo dam, which is the second largest in the country, after Kainji situated in Goronyo community.

The flag off ceremony to be performed by the governor of the state, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwa will witness seedlings being distributed to the primary local farmers who will in turn plant the seed after which Dangote Rice company will purchase from them for milling and final processing.

Sokoto state is the second after Jigawa out of the 14 states spread across the state where Dangote Rice plans to operate outgrower scheme to empower local farmers and create job opportunities for community dwellers and reduce migration to the cities.

Dangote Rice projects in the 14 states, when, operational, will generate a significant number of jobs and increase take-home income for smallholder farmers, all while diversifying Nigeria’s economy and reducing the nation’s food import bill.

Statistics from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) estimates that rice demand in Nigeria reached 6.3 million MT in 2015, with only 2.3 million MT of that demand satisfied by local production.

This local production shortfall leaves a gap of 4.0 million MT that is currently being filled through formal importation of rice or illegal imports over land borders.

By year-end 2017, Dangote Rice plans to produce 225,000 MT of parboiled, milled white rice. This will allow us to satisfy 4% of the total market demand within 1 year. Our model can then be successfully scaled to produce 1,000,000 MT of milled rice in order to satisfy 16% of the domestic market demand for rice over the next 5 years.

Due to the current economic crisis, domestic prices for agro-commodities have risen dramatically over the last 12 months, making local agriculture an attractive investment

Due to the current economic crisis, domestic prices for agro-commodities have risen dramatically over the last 12 months, making local agriculture an attractive investment. Dangote Rice Limited  seeks to take advantage of this economic trend and the favourable policies laid out in the FMARD’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda.

Dangote Rice has a mandate to locally high-quality milled, parboiled rice for the Nigeria market. This goal will be achieved by sourcing the raw material (paddy) required from the Dangote Rice Outgrower Scheme.

Through the Dangote Rice Outgrower Scheme, DRL will partner with outgrowers (smallholder and contract rice farmers) to cultivate and grow rice paddy. Specifically, DRL will provide inputs, technical assistance, extension services and land preparation services and equipment directly to farmers. At harvest, DRL will recoup the costs of inputs and services in-kind and will act as a guaranteed offtaker for paddy that meets certain pre-agreed quality standards. Smallholder farmers will provide land and labour.

The centralized outgrower model enables a high level of control over product quality and quantity. The purchasing price given to farmers will reflect each season’s market price and will be set after an extensive market price survey and consultation with all stakeholders.

In the short-term, Dangote Rice will be responsible for importing all of the inputs needed for cultivation and making them available to the outgrowers.

By end of 2017, Dangote Rice will have 25,000 Ha under rice cultivation across 3 sites in Northern Nigeria having identified rice-growing communities in Jigawa State (5,000 Ha), Sokoto State (10,000 Ha) and Zamfara State (10,000 Ha).

The 25,000 Ha will be farmed by nearly 50,000 outgrowers in the selected site areas. These outgrowers are already organized into cooperative associations. We will engage with these organizations to register and sign contracts with each farmer.

In addition to the outgrowers, an additional ~260 jobs will be created by year-end 2017. These individuals will serve as agronomists, credit officers and staff of the mill.

Upon harvest, Dangote Rice will offtake rice paddy and transport the paddy to be processed. One centralized mill will mill the stored paddy rice from all 3 sites.

Dangote Rice plans to produce one million MT of rice from 150,000 Ha in the next 5 years over. They intend to accomplish this by scaling the business model described above to more sites and rice growing communities. These communities have been identified and relationship building and sensitization has already begun. In addition to scaling the above model, DRL will establish and manage a high-quality seed development farm at Numan in Adamawa to reduce the costs of seeds.

Dangote Rice will establish raw material reception, drying, hulling, parboiling units and silos in strategic areas throughout the country near our additional outgrower communities. Each site will store dried, hulled, parboiled bran rice. DRL will then transport this bran rice to a mill, where finished rice will be produced.

The post Dangote to Launch 25,000 Hectares of Rice Outgrower Scheme. first appeared on MegaIcon Magazine.

The post Dangote to Launch 25,000 Hectares of Rice Outgrower Scheme. appeared first on MegaIcon Magazine.