FOUNDER of Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti, ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola, SAN, yesterday, tasked President Bola Tinubu to ensure that local government areas in the country receive their allocations directly from the federation account, to revive agriculture and boost the economy.
He lamented that the local councils have remained ineffective over the years in bringing development to the people, due to the activities of the governors who allegedly hijacked their allocations.
Babalola spoke, while declaring open the eighth edition of the Afe Babalola Agricultural Expo, ABAEX, an annual gathering of farmers, where they would be empowered by the ABUAD founder.
He explained that releasing funds to the council areas would enable the administrators to contribute to the socioeconomic development of the communities, especially supporting farmers.
His words: “I am suggesting that local government areas should be empowered. Each local government should set up farming equipment for farmers to hire. They should also earmark large hectares of land for the farmers to farm.
“When I was a councillor, in those days, local government funds used to come directly to them. We all know what has been happening to their money.
“I think the current president (Bola Tinubu) should do all he can to ensure that local government allocation gets to them directly and not through the governors because they (governors) steal a lot. No parent will send their children to school, some to masters and PhD level, only to come back and be asked to use cutlass to farm.
“The best the government can do now to revive agriculture is to buy modern implements to encourage people to farm. If local government funds get to them they will be able to buy tractors for the people to rent it.”
In his opening remarks, the chairman of the Local Organizing Committee, Professor Abiodun Ojo, said that the vision of ABAEX is essentially to encourage excellence and sustainable performance among the farmers in Ekiti State, while at the same time increasing value addition across all agricultural products.
