Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed the plans by the Federal Government to strengthen the Bank of Industry to bolster the Nigerian agricultural system, to attain the level of food security in the country.
Shettima who made this known during the first meeting of the National Council on Privatization, for the year 2024, held at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, said Nigerians have no business for being poor.
The Vice President who bemoaned the current practices of the bank, expressed worries about its present practices, most especially, its tendency to disburse unsustainable loans.
“We have no business being poor. Nigeria must attain national food security. Let us leverage science and technology. There are three or four states that can feed the whole of this country.
“For me, we can marry the Green Imperative Project while we are going to bring in assorted agricultural machinery. Every farmer should be given a tractor, harvester and other necessary machinery. We can take in the latest advances in science and technology and make it possible to track these items so that divergence can be minimized,” Shettima was quoted as saying in a statement by his media aide, Stanley Nkwocha.
The Vice President noted the potential of BOA to play a central role in achieving national food security, citing its extensive branch network across all senatorial districts in the country.
He however advocated the modernisation of the BOA, emphasising the need to leverage technology and upgrade branch facilities, urging that embracing modern financial systems would enable the bank to function more effectively and fulfil its vital role in supporting agricultural development in Nigeria.
However, he alluded to the potential of the Green Imperative Project, proposing its integration with the BOA’s restructuring plans.
