Governors of the 19 Northern States of the country under the aegis of the Northern Governors’ Forum have held a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Mohammed Abubakar, calling on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency, implement the National Livestock Transformation Plan(NLPT).

Rising from the closed door meeting with the Minister where the disturbing insecurity situation in the region topped the agenda, the Governors have also said that it has become very imperative for President Muhammadu Buhari led government to carry out an immediate implementation of the State Level Project Socialisation on Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (L-PRES), in the Northern part of the country.

According to the Chief Security officers in the State, when these are carried out, it would go a long way in ensuring security for farmers and at the end of the day, boost food production.

The meeting held at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja was chaired by Simon Bako Lalong, Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Plateau State. It was attended by Governors of Kwara, Niger, Kebbi, Kaduna and Deputy Governors of Benue, Kogi, Bauchi and Nasarawa States.

Speaking after the meeting held behind closed doors, Governor Simon Lalong said that the engagement was necessitated by the concern of the Northern Governors over the implementation of the programmes which have direct bearing on the lives of the people.

According to a statement by the Director of Press and Public Affairs to the Governor of Plateau State & Chairman Northern Governors Forum, Dr. Makut Simon Macham, Governor Lalong said that the Governors are worried over the slow pace of the implementation of the National Livestock Transformation Programme which was conceived to tackle the challenges confronting herdsmen and farmers.

He said because agriculture is the main stay of the North, the Forum welcomes the introduction of the new outfit Livestock, Productivity and Resilience Project (L-PRES) which it believes compliments the NLTP and will yield a positive result.

Lalong explained that the meeting was fruitful as the Governors got assurances from the Minister of Agriculture that the Federal Government will continue implementing all programmes in partnership with the States for the benefit of the people.

On security for farmers, the Chairman of the forum who explained that the implementation of the programmes would also help in addressing the security challenges which farmers were experiencing in their farming activities, said “We are not sleeping the issue of insecurity as it has been a matter of concern where in some places farming activities have been interrupted. We are working with other stakeholders especially the security agencies to see how to help farmers. This is the time that farmers would need a lot of our support and assurance to produce food for the nation.”

The chairman also explained that the meeting discussed the revamping of the textile industry through the Northern Nigerian Development Company as a way of addressing unemployment and crime.