President Bola Tinubu has approved multi-billion naira grants for two federal universities of agriculture, a move aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s agricultural sector and boosting food production across the country.
The disclosure was made over the weekend by a governing council member of the Federal University of Agriculture, Bayelsa State, Doyin Johnson, during the swearing-in ceremony of the 2025 Honour of State Icons and the presentation of certificates of return to three zonal executive councils, 33 state executive councils, and 57 local government chairmen of the Intellectual Elite Youth Association of Nigeria (IEYAN) in Lagos.
According to Johnson, the grants align with Tinubu’s commitment to enhancing food security and empowering smallholder farmers while reducing the nation’s dependence on food imports.
“President Tinubu is not the type of leader who wasn’t prepared to run for office. Nobody hand-picked him; he prepared for this for a long time,” Johnson said. “As a master strategist, he knows what to do to reform the country.”
He emphasized that the administration had begun addressing fundamental economic challenges, citing the removal of the oil subsidy as a crucial step in tackling financial mismanagement.
“He started by dealing with the oil subsidy scam, and it did not go down well with the cabals that were reaping where they did not sow. It was too sad that past administrations did not do anything about it. Did you know that past administrations used our crude oil as collateral for loans? That debt was just paid off last August, so better things are coming,” Johnson stated.
Speaking on the specifics of the agricultural grants, he disclosed that Tinubu had approved ₦2.64 billion for agricultural projects in Bayelsa and Mubi, while the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, received a ₦7 billion grant to boost farming initiatives.
“People say rice is too expensive, but when farmers in Abeokuta sell at ₦25,000 per bag while others elsewhere sell at ₦50,000, the market forces will naturally bring prices down,” he explained.
Johnson also highlighted Tinubu’s efforts in tackling illegal mining operations, particularly the exploitation of Nigeria’s mineral resources by foreign entities.
“They were just mining gold and bitumen and exporting them free of charge without paying anything to the government. But now, President Tinubu has withdrawn all the mining licenses; they are just being renewed under strict conditions,” he said.
According to him, many Chinese companies, in connivance with powerful Nigerian figures, had been illegally extracting and transporting gold out of the country. However, he assured that such illicit activities had been halted.
“In a few months, Nigeria will start reaping the benefits of its mineral wealth, which was previously exploited by unscrupulous individuals,” he added.
He further lauded Tinubu’s administration for its achievements, including the introduction of a student loan program, which he described as unprecedented in Nigeria’s history.
“Next year will be better than this year,” he assured. “I urge Nigerians, both at home and in the diaspora, to support Tinubu so that he can achieve his vision for the country.”
