No more foreign rice for me, Gov Ikpeazu vows

No more foreign rice for me, Gov Ikpeazu vows

No more foreign rice for me, Gov Ikpeazu vows

From Linus Effiong, Umuahia

Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has ordered that foreign rice should no more be part of his menu.

The governor gave the directive while responding to questions from journalists during his quarterly press briefing at the banquet hall of the Government House in Umuahia, Abia State capital.

Ikpeazu said he decided to take foreign rice out of his menu to demonstrate that Nigeria, with her rich agricultural potentials, has the capacity for self-sufficiency in food production. “We cannot be blessed with the kind of arable land we have in the North and the fertile rainforest in the South and still be dependent as a country on foreign food,” he said.

Ikpeazu said as a way to tackle the prevailing economic glut occasioned by the global oil slide, Nigeria must develop a new policy that will discourage importation of foreign foods and encourage the cultivation and eating of local foods, stressing that this is the time for Nigerians to value the richness of their local menu.

The Governor who has mandated all members of his EXCO and principal officers to own a farm this year, said Abia must return to the land as a way of recovering its original status as the food haven of Nigeria.

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