By Editor
State targets position among Nigeria’s leading cocoa producers.
The Ekiti State Government, in partnership with the TRACE Project, has presented irrigation pumps worth about N10 million to 28 cocoa nursery operators across local government areas of the state.
The State Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Ebenezer Boluwade, presented the irrigation kits in Ado-Ekiti, saying the beneficiaries had earlier undergone training on best practices in raising cocoa seedlings to boost cocoa production in the state.
Mr Boluwade said the state government had developed a 10-year policy plan aimed at positioning Ekiti among the top three cocoa-producing states in Nigeria.
He added that the long-term goal was to make the state the largest cocoa producer in the country, surpassing the record set during the era of late Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the old Ondo State.
According to him, the state would require about 10 million cocoa seedlings to achieve the target, which informed the decision to train and empower cocoa nursery operators to produce quality seedlings for farmers.
The commissioner commended the TRACE Project for supporting the state government’s cocoa development agenda and urged the beneficiaries to make effective use of the irrigation kits.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Mr Babatope Ojo, expressed appreciation to the federal government, the administration of Governor Biodun Oyebanji and the TRACE Project for the initiative.
He said the intervention would accelerate ongoing efforts to increase cocoa production in the state and advised the beneficiaries to use the equipment responsibly to improve their livelihoods.
A representative of the TRACE Project, Mr Adedigba Fisayo, said the project had trained and provided agricultural inputs to more than 15,000 farmers since it began operations in Ekiti State in 2022.
He added that Ekiti is one of six states selected to benefit from the project in Nigeria.
Mr Adedigba said the 28 beneficiaries were carefully selected in 2025 and trained as cocoa nursery operators to support the state’s plan to expand cocoa production.
He also cautioned the beneficiaries against diverting the materials for purposes other than those intended, noting that the project reserves the right to withdraw the equipment if it is misused.
In their remarks, the TRACE Project Desk Officer in the ministry, Mr Akerele Olalekan, and one of the beneficiaries from Ilumoba-Ekiti, Mr Onamadi Michael, expressed appreciation to the state government and the TRACE Project for the support.
They pledged that the beneficiaries would use the equipment effectively to support cocoa production in Ekiti State.
By Editor
President Bola Tinubu has approved the establishment of a Presidential Petroleum Reform and Value Optimisation Taskforce, naming Fola Adeola, co-founder of Guaranty Trust Bank and founder and chairman of the Fate Foundation, as its chairman.
The development was announced on Friday in a statement by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, describing the taskforce as a time-bound, high-level executive working group with a mandate to design and sequence the next phase of structural reforms in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
Other members of the taskforce include Ademola Adeyemi-Bero, Osagie Okunbor, Abubakar Suleiman, Adaeze Aguele, Farouk Gumel, Phillipa Osakwe-Okoye, and Seyi Bella, with Mofoluwasho Fadayomi serving as secretary.
According to the statement, Adeola will coordinate the group’s work and ensure the timely delivery of its mandate, with the taskforce reporting directly to the President and providing monthly progress memoranda.
“As constituted, the Taskforce is a time-bound, high-level executive working group tasked with producing execution-ready reform blueprints that will consolidate ongoing reforms, unlock capital within the petroleum sector, and strengthen Nigeria’s position as a leading global energy investment destination,” the statement read.
“The initiative reflects the President’s commitment to transforming Nigeria’s petroleum industry into a more competitive, transparent, and value-maximising sector capable of driving long-term economic growth, macroeconomic resilience, and industrial development,” it added.
The taskforce is expected to deliver three major reform blueprints within six months of inauguration, with an interim report due after three months. The first deliverable is an Implementation Toolkit for Immediate Structural Fixes, covering draft legislative amendments, executive instruments, and institutional restructuring proposals.
The second is a Capital and Liquidity Acceleration Blueprint, aimed at unlocking between five and ten billion dollars in sectoral liquidity while safeguarding Nigeria’s sovereign interests. The third blueprint will focus on a National Energy Transformation Strategy — a ten-year roadmap with measurable targets for production, foreign exchange earnings, GDP contribution, and cost competitiveness.
The statement described the body as a technical reform body rather than a representative committee, one that will engage industry operators, regulators, investors, and civil society as consultees while concentrating on actionable policy design and implementation strategies.
President Tinubu has directed all ministries, departments, agencies, regulators, and relevant institutions to provide full technical support to the taskforce and submit inventories of ongoing initiatives to ensure alignment with the emerging reform framework.
Existing committees, teams, and working groups established under various petroleum sector reform initiatives have also been directed to align their activities, reporting structures, and work programmes with the new taskforce to avoid duplication and ensure institutional coherence.
“The creation of the Taskforce represents a strategic presidential instrument to accelerate petroleum sector reforms, strengthen governance architecture, optimise national energy assets, and position Nigeria’s petroleum resources as a foundation for sustainable economic transformation,” the statement said.
The taskforce will automatically dissolve upon the submission and acceptance of its final report.
