By Gabriel Ewepu
ABUJA – AS the Federal Government intensify effort to diversify the economy by opening up other sectors in order to generate foreign exchange and create jobs, former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara, yesterday, asserted that the oil palm subsector will spin N16.2 trillion for the economy.
Dogara asserted that the oil palm industry if given the well deserved attention at both federal and state levels over 2.5 million millionaire households would be created in three years to over 30 years sustainably.
He stated this after he was conferred with the title of National Grand Patron of National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria, NPPAN, in Abuja, by the leadership of the Association.
He also appealed to the Tinubu-led administration to partner with the NPPAN to create 2.5 million millionaire households through the provision of seedlings and other inputs to each of the 2.5 million households in 30 States with comparative advantage to plant 150 palm trees each.
He said if Indonesia can create 16 million millionaire families through oil palm, Nigeria can do same with the right policies and programmes.
However, the former Speaker counseled Nigerians on focusing on solutions to the challenges of the country and not to speak more on the problems, therefore, he said it is time to fight for the solutions, which he is ready to be part of those who would ensure solutions to the current challenges in the country.
He said: “Since the endeavour here is to bring people out of poverty utilizing this because we are talking about 2.5 million families, everybody knows that Mr President is a welfarist.
“We can make oil palm industry N16.2 trillion by 2028. Maybe, Mr President might think that 2.5 million families is even too small, he wants to escalate it to 5 million families, and you can imagine if we have 5 million hectares of land under cultivation, and giving you 153 oil palm per hectare, and like I said for your family to maintain oil palm plantation, it doesn’t take anything; a family of three or four, they don’t even have to import labour, it is something that can easily be done.
“The variety we are talking about can start yielding after three years of planting, and by five years, it is fully set, some of them you can start harvesting 30 bunches from just one tree.
