Category: Daily Trust

The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has continued its capacity-building programme for Cleaning Service Providers across its stations as part of efforts to sustain high standards of hygiene, sanitation and passenger safety.

The latest two-day training session was held at Moniya Train Station, Ibadan, from 25th-26th August 2026, under the theme: ‘Safe Hygiene Practices for a Healthy and Infection-Free Train Station.’

The programme combined practical and theoretical sessions designed to strengthen the knowledge and skills of personnel responsible for maintaining cleanliness and hygiene within the station environment.

The Railway District Manager, Western District, Mrs Naomi Itajobi, thanked and appreciated the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Dr Kayode Opeifa for the good initiative, noting that the continuous training would further enhance hygiene standards and improve service delivery across railway facilities.

The HOD, Western District Health Safety and Environment Officer Mr Adedigba Timothy also participated in the programme, reinforcing the Corporation’s commitment to proper health, safety and environmental practices.

At the end of the training, Certificates of Completion were presented to participating personnel.

As part of efforts to further professionalise the service, personnel responsible for cleaning and sanitation are also being encouraged to be recognised as Hygiene Staff, reflecting the important role they play in maintaining a clean, healthy and passenger-friendly railway environment.

The continuous training programme forms part of NRC’s commitment to improving service delivery, strengthening workplace hygiene standards and providing passengers with a safe and pleasant travel experience.

The Rivers State Police Command has dismissed three officers involved in the shooting that led to the death of a University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) graduate, Anthony Obodo.

The victim, who was awaiting his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) call-up letter, was allegedly shot last Thursday along the popular Ada George Road in Port Harcourt during a police pursuit.

The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, disclosed this on Wednesday during a press briefing in Port Harcourt.

He said the officers were dismissed following the conclusion of an investigation that established their culpability in the incident.

According to him, the affected officers were tried in an orderly room trial alongside another officer who is currently at large and were recommended for dismissal from the Nigeria Police Force.

Adepoju said the dismissed officers would subsequently be charged to court to face appropriate criminal charges in accordance with the law.

He said the action demonstrated the commitment of the police command to accountability and professionalism, stressing that officers who abuse their powers or act contrary to the law would not be shielded.

‘I am here to provide updates on some serious incidents recently recorded in the state, including the investigation into the death of one Anthony A. Obodo, a student, following a police pursuit and unfortunate shooting incident, as well as the arrest of suspected members of a one-chance robbery syndicate operating within Port Harcourt and its environs,’ he said.

The Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate, Donald Duke, has renewed his call for Nigeria to adopt a two-party political system to streamline political competition and minimize chaos.

Speaking in Abuja on Tuesday during a visit by the Council of the Wise of the Savannah Centre for Democracy, Diplomacy and Development (SCDDD), Duke, a former Cross River State governor, warned that escalating political desperation could spark widespread violence and plunge the nation into deep crisis if unchecked.

The former governor argued that the relentless focus on acquiring power at all costs has eroded core democratic values, transforming politics in Nigeria from a public service vocation into a desperate occupation.

The delegation from the SCDDD’s Council of the Wise was led by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola. The visit formed part of the group’s broader advocacy engagements with key political leaders to foster peaceful conduct ahead of the 2027 polls.

Justice Ariwoola urged all presidential candidates to ensure their campaigns remain free from hate speech, inflammatory rhetoric, and incitement to violence.

The former Chief Justice cited Nigeria’s painful history of election-related unrest, referencing the 2011 general elections where over 1,000 lives were lost, primarily across northern states.

Ariwoola criticized the political class for treating elections as ‘matters of life and death’ through the deployment of political thuggery, vote buying, rigging, and ballot stuffing.

The Council called on political figures to strictly follow Independent National Electoral Commission guidelines to restore public confidence in the electoral system.

Governor Uba Sani provided the political will that enabled the Kaduna State Internal Revenue Service(KADIRS) to increase Internally Generated Revenue, without interfering with its operations.

The outgoing Executive Chairman of KADIRS, Mr Jerry Adams, made this known while speaking at the ongoing 160th meeting of the Joint Revenue Board, holding in Kaduna.

In his submission, Mr Adams noted that the IGR of Kaduna State stood at N58 billion before 2023 and by 2023, it had risen to ?62 billion, adding that in 2024, it had reached ?71 billion.

”In 2025, we recorded an annual revenue of ?85 billion, with an average monthly collection of ?7 billion. Today, we are trending towards ?120 billion, at a monthly average of ?10 billion,” he disclosed.

The outgoing Executive Chairman pointed out that the IGR figures are not a spike but ”a trend that is steady and sustainable, with even stronger performance ahead as we deepen collaboration with MDAs, stakeholders, and with the full support of His Excellency, the Governor.”

He recalled that ”between 2019 and 2023, the highest annual collection this Service ever recorded was ?59 billion in 2022 at a monthly average of about ?4.8 billion.”

”On paper, that looked like progress. But if you looked closer, as we eventually did, you’d find out that a significant portion of that revenue didn’t come from organic tax growth.

”It came from back-duty recoveries, sale of government properties and some other one-off recoveries, not a growing, breathing tax base,” Mr Adams had disclosed.

According to him, ”by early 2023, that model had done exactly what such models always eventually do: it stalled. Vertical growth had become stunted, just as we feared it would.”

Mr Adams said that KADIRS then had an honest and uncomfortable conversation, decided that ”we could no longer keep squeezing the same familiar taxpayers a little harder each year and call it strategy. ”

”We needed to grow horizontally, not just vertically; to expand the tax net itself, rather than simply tighten it around those already caught in it, and to stop relying on windfalls to flatter our numbers,” he clarified.

The outgoing Executive Chairman said that KADIRS decided to fully digitize its processes to block leakages, through the introduction of the PAYKADUNA portal, alongside Project C.R.A.F.T (Cross-Sector Systems for Revenue Administration and Fiscal Transparency).

”This gave us, for the first time, a centralised payment system for all state revenue, closing gaps that informal, cash-based collection had long allowed to thrive,” he added.

According to him, the Service recruited more staff ” to comb the streets and expand the tax net, provided necessary working tools and facilitated promotions that had been delayed.”

Mr Adams further said that KADIRS also ”provided capacity building opportunities to staff and established three additional area offices to complement the existing 34 offices for improved accessibility.”

”We also strengthened partnerships beyond our own borders with institutions like the Joint Revenue Board, the Nigeria Revenue Service, and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, particularly around data sharing, which has been invaluable in identifying taxable activity that would otherwise have gone unseen,” he added.

Mr Adams who is the APC running mate for the 2027 gubernatorial election, counseled that tax compliance is a function of trust.

”When we began, compliance across the state stood at a modest 30 percent. Today, I am pleased to report that the compliance level has risen to approximately 65 percent,” he disclosed.

The outgoing Executive Chairman however admitted that the feat is a governance achievement and not a KADIRS achievement alone.

It took 12 years. That was all it took for Uber to pack up and pack out of Nigeria. Yet in 2014, when they rolled out in Lagos, it was to fanfare, festoons and a lot of optimism. Uber was chic, modern and full of promise: ‘Be your own boss. Drive your way to financial freedom,’ it offered Nigerians. For a generation of underemployed Nigerian university graduates, the app wasn’t just software; it was an exit ramp from poverty.

But one of Silicon Valley’s biggest could only survive the Lagos stress test for 12 years and sadly proved again that doing business in Nigeria is not for the weak. The optimism of 2014 has turned into despair in 2026, not just for Uber, which is cutting its losses and leaving, but for the many people who have become reliant on the app for livelihood and service. The app-created ‘bosses’ are sitting in Nigeria’s notorious gridlocks, staring at fuel prices they can no longer afford while coming to the sad realisation that the tech saviour has packed its bag and left.

As brilliant as the idea of Uber is, it operated under a great illusion, which is synonymous with the gig economy model. Uber was enticed by the promise of Nigeria-Africa’s biggest economy, its biggest market with 185 million people at the time. There was a tantalising promise of profit to be made in Nigeria for tech business owners in Silicon Valley. They pitched themselves as partners to local drivers, and they were, but the reality was that they were risk exporters.

Uber didn’t own vehicles running the streets of Lagos and Abuja, dodging potholes and extortionist police checkpoints, or the aggressive driving that Nigeria has become infamous for. They linked passengers with service providers for a commission. It was a promising model that made life a lot easier for many Nigerians and certainly helped a lot of Nigerians, the drivers, make some income without the stress that unregulated service provision in Nigeria presents-it did present other challenges for sure. It wasn’t a perfect partnership. It was tenuous and stressful and had its strifes. But there was a palpable breaking point.

May 29, 2023. President Tinubu was being sworn in as president of Nigeria and in his inauguration speech-which is only remembered for one thing now-he went off script and declared the premature end of fuel subsidy. Before he left the podium at Eagle Square, pump prices in Maitama, Majema and Marina had gone up, throwing the market and economy into a tailspin.

Uber, like the rest of Nigeria, was completely unprepared for this. I remember hailing an Uber the next day, May 30, with an app-stipulated price. When the driver rocked up to pick me up, he begged and pleaded for me to pay more than the app stipulated, because he had to pay extra for fuel. That became a pattern. Every driver would always ask for more and complain that the app was not responding to the new reality on the ground. Some drivers would even call ahead to haggle for prices before deciding if they should bother coming to the pick-up location.

When fuel prices skyrocketed, after May 29, 2023, and the Naira value fluctuated wildly, taking flight like a startled guinea fowl, Uber’s algorithms lagged behind reality. The corporate headquarters continued taking its flat percentage cut, while the driver’s take-home pay shrank to literal pennies after factoring in maintenance and fuel. The sad reality emerged. Uber’s ‘independent contractor’ status was never about freedom; it was about corporate insulation from Nigerian economic shocks. And there were many of these shocks.

But this is not just about a Silicon Valley giant pulling out of Nigeria but the resultant socio-economic tragedy that will affect thousands of lives. First, the 3,300 job losses that have resulted, not including previous job cuts the company undertook more recently. And most crucially, the thousands of drivers reliant on the app for what is not extra income for a lot of them, but primary income. Some of these are not just part-timers making extra cash. They are graduates with degrees in engineering, economics, former bank workers downsized during mergers, fathers trying to pay their children’s school fees. Once I was picked up by a single mother who drives Uber to provide for her young ones.

Some of these people took heavy loans or entered gruelling ‘hire-purchase’ agreements to secure Uber-compliant vehicles. Now they are caught in the fierce grip of the hire-purchase trap. With Uber’s sudden exit, these asset debts remain, and will continue to weigh heavy in this tough economy. Yet the primary ecosystem to service them has vanished.

To be fair, the drivers did not take the exploitation lying down. They pushed back against what could be described as algorithm-driven poverty, where on the surface, it seemed they were working and making money, but in reality they were paying more in commissions than they were paying into their bank accounts.

They resisted. They struck. They formed an informal drivers’ union. They took offline ‘cash trips’ and sometimes forced riders into paying just to bypass the app’s unfair commissions. And there were constant protests over safety concerns.

In truth, Uber didn’t just make an exit on Nigeria because the macroeconomics were bad; they left because drivers refused to quietly subsidise corporate margins with their own starvation. The market fought back.

One lesson from this exit is that it serves as a crucial reminder that the Silicon Valley will save Africa narrative is far too optimistic. This puts a timely reality check on the Silicon Valley saviour complex and reminds us that Nigeria’s policy epilepsy is inherently dangerous to businesses and long-term investments. Tech cannot fix structural and systemic governance failures by the push of a button.

But crucially, it leaves behind a sobering lesson for Nigeria’s massive youth population. Digital platforms can create temporary gigs, but they cannot replace robust industrial policy, stable currency, and real, structural employment. The apps will come and go, but the hustle remains entirely local, raw and real.

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has revealed that a food business he started with akara and bread was generating at least N10 million monthly before he ventured into politics.

Eno said his experience in the business demonstrated how a modest venture could be developed into a substantial enterprise through innovation and patronage.

The governor made the disclosure during the state’s monthly covenant prayer service, where he reflected on his entrepreneurial experience before entering public office.

He recalled that he initially sold akara and bread, which he branded ‘Akara Burger’, before expanding the venture into a coffee shop.

According to him, the business attracted strong patronage from workers, especially those heading to ExxonMobil in the morning.

He said customers would buy the akara and bread combination alongside coffee before proceeding to work, helping the business grow into a major source of income.

‘At a point, that business was making not less than N10 million every month,’ Eno said.

The governor’s account comes against the backdrop of renewed debate over the potential of small scale businesses to provide income for Nigerians amid economic pressures.

The debate was triggered in part by comments from First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, who had encouraged Nigerians to consider petty businesses, including akara, roasted corn and kuli kuli, as avenues for improving livelihoods.

The remarks, made in June after a Renewed Hope Initiative meeting with wives of state governors in Abuja, attracted criticism from some Nigerians.

Some questioned whether such ventures could sufficiently cushion the economic hardship confronting households.

The First Lady subsequently clarified that the empowerment programme was not limited to akara sellers.

She added that it also covered other petty traders dealing in items such as tomatoes, pepper, vegetables and roasted plantain.

She later announced a N100 million intervention for 2,000 petty traders in Jigawa State, with each beneficiary receiving N50,000 to strengthen their businesses.

President Bola Tinubu also joined the public conversation when he jokingly referred to his wife as ‘Iya Alakara’ at a Presidential Press Corps Dinner.

Eno’s personal account, however, presented a different dimension to the debate.

His account also comes against the background of a career that included substantial involvement in business before his transition into government.

The governor’s official profile describes him as a businessman and entrepreneur.

He was involved in the hospitality sector and served as chairman of the Akwa Ibom Hotels and Tourism Board before his political career gathered momentum.

Eno was appointed Commissioner for Lands and Water Resources in Akwa Ibom State in 2021 before emerging as the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate for the 2023 governorship election.

He won the election and was sworn in as governor on May 29, 2023.

Xiaomi has introduced the REDMI 17, the latest addition to its value-focused smartphone lineup, bringing together long-lasting battery performance.

A statement said the phone has an immersive display, capable cameras and a refreshed design for users seeking reliability and entertainment in one device.

It added the device was designed to give users more freedom to go through their day without constantly thinking about their next charge, with its 7,500mAh battery.

It stressed that it was designed to stay with users through longer days, even though they engage in activities such as streaming videos, browsing social media, making calls or capturing content wiith support for 45W Turbo Charging, getting back to using the device is also designed to take less time.

According to li shuyue, Head of Marketing, Xiaomi, the brand has always been about bringing meaningful technology to more people, and with REDMI 17, it is a respond to the way consumers actually live with their smartphones today.

‘We wanted to create a device that delivers on the things that matter in everyday life, dependable battery life, an enjoyable viewing experience and features that make the phone genuinely useful.

The proposal for a four-year ‘Government of National Competence’ by a coalition of opposition parties is one of the more interesting ideas to emerge from Nigeria’s increasingly active pre-2027 political season. At a summit organised by the G100 in Abuja, representatives of six opposition parties – the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) – considered a framework built around a single four-year transition term. The proposed Government of National Competence would be anchored on competence, integrity, national inclusion and fair representation, while a four-year ‘National Reset Programme’ would provide its policy framework. The proposal is also expected to be backed by what its promoters describe as an enforceable Transition Charter.

There is something refreshing about a political conversation that attempts to move beyond the familiar arithmetic of who gets which ticket and who controls which party structure. Yet precisely because the proposal is ambitious, Nigerians should resist the temptation either to dismiss it as another opposition strategy for 2027 or to embrace it as an instant solution to the country’s problems. However, what does a four-year transition actually mean within Nigeria’s constitutional democracy?

The Constitution already provides for a four-year presidential tenure. Section 135 (2) states that the President shall vacate office at the expiration of four years from the commencement of the relevant term, subject to the circumstances provided by the Constitution.

Therefore, there is nothing constitutionally unusual about a government serving four years. The novelty in the G100 proposal is not the duration itself, but the suggestion that the political actors involved would voluntarily commit themselves to a single four-year term devoted to a defined national reset.

The Nigerian Constitution recognises a four-year presidential term and permits a person who has not previously been elected President at two elections to contest for the office, subject to the constitutional requirements. Section 137 specifically disqualifies a person who has already been elected President at two previous elections.

This raises a fundamental constitutional question for the proponents of the Transition Charter: can a political agreement among parties create an enforceable restriction on a President’s constitutional eligibility to seek another term? We need to understand that there is an important difference between a political promise and a constitutional limitation.

A presidential candidate can certainly promise Nigerians that he or she will serve only one term. A coalition can also enter into an agreement requiring its candidate to make such a commitment, but if the intention is to create a legal prohibition against seeking another term, the proponents must explain the constitutional mechanism through which this would be achieved.

Political parties or coalition cannot, by agreement alone, amend its provisions. Any alteration to the constitutional framework must follow the prescribed amendment process under Section 9. The National Assembly’s own explanation of the constitutional alteration procedure points to the requirement for supermajorities at the federal and state levels.

However, this does not make the G100 proposal impossible. If the single-term commitment is intended merely as a political covenant, Nigerians should be told so. If it is intended to have legal force beyond a political undertaking, the coalition must explain the constitutional route for achieving that objective.

Nigeria has had no shortage of political agreements. The problem has often been what happens when political circumstances change. As Salihu Moh Lukman, who presented the framework on behalf of the G100, reportedly observed, Nigerian politics has suffered from promises that nobody could enforce when the person who made them changed his or her mind. The G100 has consequently proposed that the commitments be written, witnessed and backed by consequences. That is a sensible starting point, but it immediately raises another issue. What exactly are the consequences, and who has the authority to impose them?

Suppose an opposition coalition wins the 2027 presidential election and its candidate subsequently decides to seek another term. Would the Transition Charter prevent the person from obtaining a party nomination? Could INEC legally reject the nomination because of the Charter? Could a court enforce the agreement? Could coalition parties remove a sitting President for violating it? These questions cannot be left to political rhetoric.

There is, however, a strong argument in favour of the idea that deserves consideration. One of Nigeria’s longstanding governance problems is the dominance of electoral calculations over difficult policy decisions. Politicians understandably think about the next election, the next coalition, the next appointment and the next political battle. A government that voluntarily limits itself to a single term could, in theory, have greater political space to undertake reforms whose immediate costs may be unpopular but whose long-term benefits are substantial.

Such an administration could potentially approach issues such as electricity, public-sector reform, security-sector restructuring, education, taxation, fiscal federalism and institutional accountability with less concern about their immediate electoral consequences. Unfortunately, this argument also has a serious counterpoint. A President who cannot seek re-election may be liberated from the politics of electoral survival, but may also become less directly accountable to voters. The possibility of re-election is not just an incentive for good governance; it is also one of the mechanisms through which voters can reward or punish political leadership.

Based on this, the G100 therefore faces a delicate task. This is, how does it create a government sufficiently free to undertake difficult reforms without creating a government insufficiently constrained by democratic accountability?

The answer cannot simply be a Transition Charter. This requires stronger institutions. An effective single-term government would need an independent judiciary, credible electoral institutions, a legislature capable of exercising oversight, professional security institutions, transparent public procurement, strong auditing mechanisms and a free media capable of scrutinising government. Without these safeguards, ‘national competence’ could become another political label attached to the same old system of patronage.

There is also the question of what makes a government ‘of national competence’. Competence is an attractive word. Everyone wants competent government. But competence must be measurable. If the coalition is serious, it should publish its proposed National Reset Programme before Nigerians are asked to vote for it.

What exactly would be achieved within four years? How many jobs would be created? What would happen to electricity generation and distribution? What security outcomes would be expected? What would be done about public debt and revenue mobilisation? How would education and healthcare be transformed? What institutional reforms would be completed? What would happen to the federal structure? What would be the measurable targets for poverty reduction, agricultural productivity and industrialisation? Without answers to such questions, ‘National Reset’ risks becoming another evocative political slogan.

There is another problem that may prove even more difficult. This is the issue of ‘coalition governance’. The proposed government is expected to bring together political interests that have historically competed against one another. The G100 framework speaks of national inclusion and fair representation among participating parties. That is politically understandable. But there is a danger that ‘fair representation’ could eventually become another expression for sharing offices among political actors.

A ‘Government of National Competence’ should not become a ‘Government of Compensatory Appointment’. If a coalition wins power, the test should not be how many ministries each party receives. The test should be whether the best people available are appointed to the jobs that matter, regardless of which party they belong to.

This is particularly important because the language of competence can easily become contradictory when negotiated within a political coalition. If competence is genuinely the organising principle, some politicians who contribute to the electoral victory may have to accept that they are not necessarily the best people to govern.

That is where the G100’s political test becomes more difficult than its constitutional test. Can Nigeria’s opposition politicians agree on rules before they know who will benefit from them? Can presidential aspirants accept an outcome that excludes them? Can political parties surrender some of their individual ambitions for a common programme? And can those who help build the coalition accept that the reward for political sacrifice may not necessarily be a ministerial appointment?

These are not peripheral questions. They determine whether the proposed arrangement can survive beyond the excitement of the 2027 campaign.

The G100 initiative is therefore worth watching, not because it has already produced a viable alternative government, but because it has opened a conversation that Nigerian politics badly needs: what should an alternative government actually look like?

The opposition’s answer cannot be simply that it will replace the APC. Nor should Nigerians accept the argument that removing one political party automatically constitutes national renewal.

If the proposed Government of National Competence is genuinely intended as a national reset, its proponents should be willing to subject the idea to the same scrutiny they would demand of the government they seek to replace. They should publish the Transition Charter, explain its constitutional basis, identify its enforcement mechanisms, define the limits of the proposed government, set out its reform priorities and establish measurable benchmarks by which Nigerians can judge its performance.

Most importantly, they should tell Nigerians what happens at the end of the four years. If the experiment succeeds, does the country simply return to the existing constitutional order? Would the outgoing President be free to contest again? Would the coalition dissolve? Would its parties return to competition? Or is the four-year government intended to prepare the ground for deeper constitutional and institutional reforms?

These questions matter because political transitions should not be designed around personalities alone. Some of us observing what is happening, we find that the most interesting aspect of the proposal not its potential to defeat the ruling party, but its attempt to change the conversation from who should govern Nigeria to how Nigeria should be governed. That is a much healthier question for a democracy.

But ideas should not be judged by the attractiveness of their names. ‘Government of National Competence’ sounds compelling. ‘National Reset’ sounds urgent. ‘Transition Charter’ sounds reassuring. Yet democratic governance cannot rest on terminology. The real test is whether the proposal can survive constitutional scrutiny, political bargaining, institutional reality and the unpredictable behaviour of politicians once they acquire power.

Nigeria should therefore neither reject the idea because it comes from opposition parties nor accept it because it promises a reset. The proponents should show Nigerians the blueprint, the constitutional pathway, the safeguards and the measurable destination. Four years may be enough to begin a national reset. It will not be enough to repair another political experiment built on promises that were never designed to survive power.

The Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the maiden National Intermediate Games, says the upcoming competition will drive the development of school sports.

It added that the Games would create a sustainable pathway for young talents, noting that it would go beyond the competition arena by strengthening links between school sports, grassroots participation and elite competition.

This was contained in a statement by Gbenga Omotoso, Chairman, Media and Publicity sub-committee.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Games, tagged EKO 2026, will hold in Lagos from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15, with about 15,000 athletes expected from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The LOC is chaired by Sam Egube, Deputy Chief of Staff to Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while Lekan Fatodu, Director-General, Lagos State Sports Commission and Mobolaji Ogunlende, Commissioner for Youth and Social Development are co-chairmen.

According to Egube, the Games will not be treated as a one-off sporting event.

He said EKO 2026 would serve as a sustainable platform for talent identification, monitoring and development.

‘This is a commitment to human development and to encouraging our sporting system.

‘Immediately after the event, athletes will benefit from tangible incentives, opportunities for support and training.

‘As we build new schools, modern sporting facilities are integrated, ensuring that talents are nurtured within school programmes,’ Egube said. (NAN)

Three years after a devastating ginger blight outbreak crippled production, farmers in parts of Kaduna State are once again battling a fungal disease that is destroying their crops and threatening their livelihoods.

Many farmers are spending heavily on chemicals to save their crops from the latest outbreak, with some resorting to premature harvesting to minimise losses.

The farmers told Daily Trust that the disease had become increasingly severe this farming season, making ginger production more expensive, as some growers now have to spray their farms as frequently as once a week.

In 2023, more than 100,000 farmers suffered severe financial setbacks after the blight destroyed between 80 and 90 per cent of their crops, with losses estimated at N12 billion.

The damage was particularly severe in major ginger-producing local government areas of Kaduna State, including Kachia, Kagarko and Jaba, where crop losses reportedly reached 95 per cent.

Farmers share experiences

For Haruna Kago, the signs appeared when he least expected them.

On August 1, the ginger farmer in Kubacha, Kagarko Local Government Area of Kaduna State, noticed dark spots, yellowing leaves, blight and drying tips on his farm.

At first, the problem appeared limited. But within 14 days, the disease had spread across his entire two-hectare farm.

Kago said he had invested about N12 million in the farm and expected a harvest worth approximately N30 million.

He estimated that one hectare had already been lost, while he had spent about N1.2 million on chemicals to contain the disease.

His experience captures a fresh wave of anxiety among ginger farmers barely three years after a devastating disease outbreak crippled production.

Kago told Daily Trust that the first symptoms he noticed were blight, dark spots, yellowing leaves and the death of plant tips.

‘Within 14 days, all the two hectares of the farm were affected,’ he said, adding that the damage was not limited to what could be seen above the ground.

‘I observed maggots in the ginger seed. It stopped sprouting, leading to decay of the ginger rhizomes,’ he said.

With about half of his farm already affected, Kago said he expected to lose approximately N15 million worth of ginger.

But the financial burden does not end there. He said he had already spent about N1.2 million trying to control the disease.

The farmer rated the effectiveness of the treatment at only three out of 10.

He has not yet resorted to premature harvesting, choosing instead to monitor the effect of the latest treatment.

For Kago, the combined value of the destroyed crop and money spent fighting the disease could put his losses at about N17.5 million.

Another affected farmer, Sani Simon, who farms in Kurumusa, Southern Kaduna, said the cost of producing ginger had become unbearable, particularly for farmers cultivating large areas of land.

He said his five-hectare farm required repeated applications of chemicals to control the disease, warning that the situation could result in huge financial losses if the outbreak persisted.

‘Honestly speaking, it will affect me a lot. Farming ginger is not easy. The one we will farm next year, we are preparing it this year,’ Simon said.

He said the financial burden became even more difficult when the disease attacked the crop, as farmers were forced to buy additional chemicals and spray repeatedly.

Another farmer and agrochemical dealer, Monday Jonah, said the disease had become so serious that normal fungicide applications were often insufficient to completely control it.

Jonah, who manages and works with nearly 300 ginger farmers, said growers were spending huge amounts of money on agrochemicals, with the cost varying according to the size of their farms and frequency of application.

He said some farmers cultivating about two hectares could spend between N222,000 and N250,000 on a single application, while repeated spraying every few days could push the cost significantly higher.

Jonah said some specialised fungicides were particularly expensive, with a litre of one of the products selling for between N135,000 and N150,000. He added that availability had also become a challenge.

He warned that the rising cost of inputs could wipe out farmers’ profits if ginger prices fell or yields declined because of the disease.

‘If the ginger is sold at a low price, there will not be profit. When you calculate how many millions are spent on agrochemicals and the ginger does not yield well, there will not be a good return,’ he said.

The farmers also expressed disappointment over what they described as inadequate access to government intervention.

Simon alleged that although government authorities were previously aware of the challenges facing ginger farmers and assistance had reportedly been provided, many farmers at the grassroots did not benefit.

He appealed to government agencies and other stakeholders to visit farming communities directly, assess the extent of the problem and provide assistance to genuine farmers.

‘We are pleading with the government to come directly to the grassroots and take the records so they can assist us. Without that, honestly speaking, we will be in a mess,’ he said.

He said ginger remained the major source of income for many families, including graduates who had turned to farming because of the difficulty of securing formal employment.

According to him, the impact of the disease went beyond farming, as families dependent on ginger sales were struggling to pay school fees, complete building projects and repay loans.

He disclosed that he personally obtained a N3 million loan to invest in ginger production during an earlier crisis but was only able to repay about N1 million after suffering losses.

Jonah, who also farms in areas including Jaba and Kafanchan, said he had records of hundreds of farmers under his supervision and was willing to provide government authorities with information that could help identify genuine ginger farmers and target assistance appropriately.

The farmers warned that without intervention, continued disease attacks and rising production costs could discourage growers from planting ginger, threaten household incomes and worsen food production challenges in the affected communities.

‘We fear ginger may disappear’

In Jema’a Local Government Area, Alhaji Ibrahim Koli has a similar but more painful story.

Koli told Daily Trust that he lost more than N30 million from his farm despite repeatedly applying chemicals and insecticides.

What troubles him most, he said, was that the problem had continued to reappear on his farms year after year.

‘My fear is that if caution and precautions are not taken, the ginger species will become extinct from Southern Kaduna, the region that produces the largest amount of ginger, both in quality and quantity, in the country,’ he said.

Koli said he had tried recycling ginger seeds from one farm to another and had also purchased different planting materials, but the disease continued to affect his farms.

His losses have also forced him to make difficult decisions.

Between July and August, he said, he harvested some ginger prematurely and sold it for about N100,000 per bag, despite having spent about N600,000 to produce each bag.

‘This is a total loss as you can see,’ he said.

Koli believes changing climatic conditions may be contributing to the problem, although this remains his assessment and not an established scientific finding.

‘I believe this has to do with climate change because I used a very active insecticide, Caprodew, which is sold at N150,000 per litre, but it did not work,’ he said.

He also said he lost more than N33 million to the disease on his farm last year.

‘I wrote to the government and Kaduna SEMA, but nothing yet has happened. We are appealing to the government to come to our aid with different kinds of interventions,’ he said.

With his ginger continuing to die, Koli said he had started planting beans on the farm.

FG’s intervention

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said the Federal Government had established a four-committee task force to combat the ginger blight crisis.

According to Kyari, the Technical and Research Committee would study the disease and develop control measures to prevent future outbreaks.

The Emergency and Recovery Committee would support farmers affected by the failed season through comprehensive assessments and targeted relief, while the Capacity and Productivity Committee would provide farmers with training, quality seeds and proven methods for combating the fungus and promoting good agronomic practices.

Kyari also said a N1.6 billion recovery programme for affected farmers, using the National Agriculture Development Fund (NADFund), had been launched as part of efforts to address the crisis.

Despite the Federal Government’s intervention, many farmers who spoke with Daily Trust said they were still waiting for assistance, which they said had yet to reach them.