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Sanwo-Olu Promises To Establish Food Centres In Badagry, Epe

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Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that the government would establish two food production centres in Epe and Badagry to be known as ‘Lagos Food Production Centres’ in order to ensure sustained food production and supply in the State.

Sanwo-Olu, who disclosed this today in Lagos at the symbolic distribution of Agricultural Inputs and Productive Assets to 2,743 farmers under the 2020 agricultural value chains empowerment programme, explained that the two centres would ensure the resuscitation, expansion and stocking of agricultural production facilities in various value chains.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, represented at the event by his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Kadri Hamzat, noted that the two centres would also have Agro-Tourism centres in Lagos, Songhai project in Badagry and the Agricultural Training Institute in Araga, Epe.

The Governor pointed out that the State Government also plans to establish the Lagos Aquaculture Centre of Excellence (LACE), a N10 Billion project to be located on 35 hectares of land in Igbonla, Epe under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement.

According to him, the project is designed to boost the growth and development of the aquaculture industry in the State, through the direct production of 2,000 tonnes of fish annually, provision of inputs to fish farmers under the Lagos Nucleus Farms (LANS) scheme and serve as off-taker for fish farm clusters in the State.

In his words: “The experience of the past few months during the lockdown occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic has further reinforced the urgent need to expand the State’s food production base to meet such spontaneous increase in demand for food in the future”.

Sanwo-Olu explained that the Agriculture sector remains a key component through which the State Government intends to realise the “Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy” pillar of the T.H.EME.S agenda, adding that some of the programmes that would make the realisation attainable are food security, creating employment opportunities and wealth for farmers as well as all those enhancement of the agriculture value chain.

He posited that the annual Agricultural Value Chain Empowerment Programme is one of the strategies designed to boost food production and supply, through the provision of agricultural inputs and productive assets to farmers and other players in the value chain.

He said, “This year’s edition is quite auspicious coming at a time we need to do a lot to cushion the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the productive capacity of our farmers and other actors within the agricultural value chain. Currently, our level of food self-sufficiency in Lagos State stands at about 20% leaving a deficit of about 80%, which is mostly accounted for by supplies from other States. Our goal is to achieve a 100% increase in food self-sufficiency by 2023.

“We are committed to meeting this target with you as our key partners and through the implementation of our programmes, policies and projects which are aimed at maximising our comparative and competitive advantage in the agricultural space”, Sanwo-Olu averred.

According to him, some of the policies, programmes and projects are designed to improve the capacity of agricultural value chain actors and revolutionise productivity with the introduction of modern technology and best practices.

Earlier, the State Acting Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya explained that agriculture was not only a major source of employment for Lagosians but also vital to the promotion of food security as it plays a crucial role in increasing quantity, quality and diversity of food supply, which ultimately improves the nutritional status of the people.

She noted that the Empowerment was a means of channelling needed support to smallholder farmers who are actively engaged in the various Agricultural Value Chains, thereby creating further wealth and job opportunities while delivering optimum economic benefits to farmers and other operators.

The Acting Commissioner revealed that the Empowerment was not only targeted at farmers who are the direct beneficiaries, but also at service providers, transporters, input manufacturers and suppliers whose services are required for the successful implementation of the project.

Olusanya disclosed that since the inception of the project in 2014, a total of 11,233 farmers, fishermen, butchers, processors and marketers have been empowered.

Also speaking, a Honourable member of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Kehinde Joseph called for the legislation of the Value Chain Empowerment Programme so that it could outlive every government bearing in mind the importance of the programme in achieving food security in the State.

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Court Case: Between Chioma Egodi And Erisco Foods, Still On The Defamation Of The Product “Nagiko Tomato Mix”

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How Chioma Egodi’s False Accusations Prompted Erisco Foods to Defend Its Reputation.

On this matter, A social commentator by the name Ebuka Amos, Has this in writing;

UNVEILING THE TRUTH AND EXPOSING THE LIES.

Did Chioma Egodi Review Erisco’s Nagiko Tomato Mix or Was She On A Mission To Destroy Erisco Foods And Run It Out Of Business? Be The Judge

On September 17th, 2023, Chioma Egodi Jnr in a facebook post on her timeline made the following statement;

“I went to but (buy) Tin Tomatoes yesterday that I will use to make stew, I didn’t see Gino and Sonia, so I decided to buy this one, (referring to Erisco Nagiko tomato mix), I decided to taste it omo! Sugar is juat (just) too much! Haaa biko let me know if you have used this Tin tomato before because this is an ike gwuru situation!”

The said post generated lots of reactions from her followers and facebook users; below are some of the reactions:

One Blessing Okeke responded “Stop spoiling my brother’s product, if you don’t like it use another one than bring it on social media or call the customer service of Erisco Foods Ltd” Chioma Egodi Jnr, responded to Blessing Okeke by writing “help me advise your brother to stop ki***ing (killing) people with his product, yesterday was my first time of using and its pure sugar. Tueh!

Lets look at that response in a proper perspective. Is that response still product review or product destruction? She just alleged that Erisco’s product is killing people. This is a very serious allegation and where and how did she get the information that the product is killing people? (is this a product review?). Be the judge. More so,

One Amaka Love Amaobi responded by writing “my sister thanks for updating us Dalu nne” (now based on Chioma Egodi allegation, this person will never use Erisco’s products again and moreso, through the word-of-mouth advert which is the most effective form of advert, she will spread this allegation to multiples of people)

One Don Kashking responded: Pls can we now spoil the product? And Chioma replied him by stating “done already bro,…The above statement is a clear conspiracy from Chioma Egodi and syndicate to destroy, damage and wreck the brand, Ersico.

They have moved from product review to product destruction.

Apart from the comments above, there were many more comments suggesting that the Erisco Nagiko Mix is a bad product and people should avoid it. Interestingly, there were many positive reviews from some of the users of the products, who gave positive reviews of the products and blatantly condemned what Chioma Egodi was doing. They cautioned Chioma Egodi that what she was doing was not a review but deliberate act to destroy Erisco Foods and it’s products.

Chioma responded to them by the write up below;

“@followers about my post yesterday concerning the sugary Tin Tomatoes, my inbox has seen a lot ooo, pls help me tell these persons to avoid me. I only ask if anybody has used it to give their honest opinion but these people is attacking me on my inbox that I am spoiling business for their brother, pls it’s enough stop it. We can take this matter to court oo if you want.”

You can see that Chioma was the first person that talked about going to court.

So, why the outcry now that the matter is in court? Furthermore, an interesting observation from the conversations on the comments section of her post is that she abused those that had positive comments about Erisco Nagiko Mix and made thumbs up (supported) for those that criticized it.

More so, some people advised her to pull down the post that she’s destroying someone’s business but she blatantly refused. It became evident that the intent and purposes of Chioma Egodi was not to review the product but was out to destroy it.

It was further evident that she was hired to destroy the product using her platform. Erisco Responds To Chioma Egodi’s AllegationWhen the management of Erisco Foods Ltd was notified about the post by Chioma Egodi, they enquired from there customer relations department if there was any official complaint from her on their product, they found none. They reached out to Chioma Egodi through a third party requesting her to bring the product she claimed to buy for verification to ensure if wasn’t a fake one, but she declined.

The management had no choice than to defend its reputation as the tense situation already generated a campaign of calumny to boycott Erisco’s products.Prompt Corporate Response Erisco Foods, aware of the weight words carry in the digital era, especially when concerning public health, took these accusations seriously.

The company, recognizing the potential harm such statements could have on consumer trust and public safety, responded promptly. They maintained that their product was safe, adhering to all health and safety standards, and that Egodi’s claims were not based on factual evidence.

The company further reached out to Chioma Egodi to bring the used Tin of the Nagiko Tomato Mix she tasted that was full of sugar or send the product batch number and production date so that the company can be sure it was their product she was talking about and not a fake one. Chioma declined all entreaties. Erisco then decided to use the legal route to clear its name.

Legal and Police Involvement Given the gravity of the claim that a food product was endangering lives, Erisco Foods Management petitioned the Police on a complaint of Criminal Conspiracy, de-marketing and blackmail of killing people by an organized body. That’s how the Nigerian police became involved. The police invited Chioma Egodi for investigation on the strength of Erisco’s letter. Chioma Egodi’s Apology.

During the Police investigation, Chioma Egodi offered and penned a remorseful apology with a promise of retraction as well as posting the apology on her page.

“I sincerely wish to apologize to Erisco Foods Limited for the post I made on Facebook about their product Nagiko Tomatoes mix. I am truly sorry for the product. I am fully sorry sir. I regret my actions and wish to be forgiven. I pledge that this type of bad behavior will never happen again. I undertake to retract all my earlier post on this matter immediately. This is without any compulsion. I will do everything within my power to rectify the mistake and wrong concerning the matter. All the things I told wrongly about the damage done to the company, its customers and the general public. Once again, I am very sorry for the offense.”

Chioma Failed To RetractOn the grant of bail, Chioma failed to retract her false allegation and started a campaign of calumny against Erisco Foods, saying she was forced to write the apology. The implication of this is that she still stands by her statement that Erisco Nagiko Mix is killing people.

Evasion After Bail Recall that based on the understanding that Chioma will use the same medium she used to allege that Erisco Nagiko Tomato Mix was killing people, to use same medium to retract her statement, Chioma was released on bail with a condition she will be available to complete peaceful settlement process. Instead of following through with her obligations agreed on, she reneged on the conditions of her release and continually jumped bail given to her by the Police.

Severing ties with the lawyer who had initially represented her in Abuja, and a relation that signed her bail bond. Chioma turned to Inibehe Effiong, leaving a trail of unanswered questions and legal challenges in her wake.

She equally made herself incommunicado making it impossible for the police to serve her with the court processes and refused to appear in court severally, which prompted the Judge to mandate Inibehe Effiong to produce her in Court at the next adjourned date.

Affirmation of Product SafetyThe Nigerian regulatory agencies gave its update on the status of Erisco Nagiko Tomato Mix for consumption.

1. NAFDAC.NAFDAC with its mandate to safeguard public health released a statement: “Update on the Registration Status of Nagiko Tomato Mix. The product in question – Nagiko Tomato Mix by Erisco Foods Limited with NAFDAC Registration Number A8-7430 is a registered product. The formulation of tomato paste and ketchup products with sugar is safe for consumption.”

2. The Lagos State Government’s Consumer Protection Agency, LASCOPA, weighed in with its findings: in its public statement, “LASCOPA SAYS NAGIKO TOMATO FIT FOR CONSUMPTIONContrary to claims made by one Mrs. Chioma Egodi on Facebook about the state of a tin tomato product named NAGIKO Tomato Mix 400g, the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, LASCOPA has declared that the product is safe for consumption and does not pose any health hazard to the consuming public.

A statement signed by the General Manager of LASCOPA, Afolabi Solebo said the certification by LASCOPA about the product follows the outcome of the laboratory tests which the product was subjected to upon the complaint from the consumer.

According to him, to authenticate her claim, LASCOPA had embarked on an independent investigation by inviting Erisco Foods Limited, the producer of the product and Egodi to two different meetings held on the 3rd and 10th of October, 2023.

In his words, “The outcome of the meetings informed the decision of LASCOPA to request for samples of the product which were subsequently taken to the laboratory for test and analysis as well as to ascertain the conformity of the sets of parameters of the product samples to establish if the product is safe for consumption or otherwise”.

“It must be noted that two samples of the product were taken from Erisco Foods Company and another two sets of samples were obtained from a market survey by LASCOPA to balance and ensure a true reflection of the state of the product from both the company and the market.

“The laboratory analysis of the two sets of samples collected for Microbial and Physicochemical tests showed that the product passed all the tested parameters and it is safe for consumption based on the outcome of the test conducted”, he added.

Interestingly, the product has been in the market since 2010, duly certified by Standards Organisation of Nigeria and NAFDAC and no issue of complaint has arisen since inception.Wrong Perception in the Court of Public Opinion The case of Chioma Egodi versus Erisco Foods Limited reverberated through the court of public opinion, a forum often swayed by sentiment and emotions rather than facts.

The discourse surrounding the incident highlighted the need for a balance between freedom of speech and the accountability that must accompany public declarations, especially when they concern the health and well-being of consumers.

Now, we’re left with deep questions that touch our hearts and make us think about what’s really going on. Why is Chioma working so hard to ruin a company’s good reputation, a company that has been feeding countless families for years?What makes a person ignore the damage they could do to the people who rely on that company for their jobs?

It could be deduced from the foregoing that the goal was never to review the product, but instead about causing so much trouble that the company might close down?These questions make us think about the kind of community we want.

Do we want to live in a place where people can make big accusations without proof, putting hard work and jobs at risk? Or do we want a community where we solve problems by talking, looking at the facts, and finding the truth?

This story about Erisco Foods and Chioma isn’t just about a fight between a company and one person. It shows us what we value, what we stand for, and the future we want to create.

Let’s not get carried away by false claims and narratives. Instead, let’s look for the truth with open hearts and minds. It’s not just about Erisco; it’s about our honesty and how we care for our community.

Credit: Ebuka Amos, Social Commentator.

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Food Insecurity: EFCC Arrests 21 Food-Loaded Trucks Heading To Neighbouring Countries

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sAccording to the reports made by the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission via their X account, They disclosed that they will charge the suspects to court after the investigation is completed.

They wrote;

“Operatives of the Maiduguri Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, arrested 21 trucks loaded with food and non-food items heading towards N’djamena, Chad Republic, Central African Republic and Cameroon.

“The trucks were intercepted in a sting operation at major exit routes along Kalabiri/Gamboru Ngala and Bama roads, Borno State.

“Investigation showed food items cleverly concealed in the trucks that would have gone undetected but for the eagle-eyed vigilance of operatives of the Commission.

“Further checks showed that the Waybills covering the goods carried by trucks indicated their destinations as N’djamena, Chad Republic, Central Africa Republic and Cameroon respectively.

“The arrest of the trucks is expected to stem the tide of food insecurity occasioned by unscrupulous antics of smugglers across the country.

“Suspects arrested with the trucks are being profiled and will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.”

Here are pictures from the interception.

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NAFDAC Places Ban On Alcoholic Drinks Produced In Sachets

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has banned alcoholic beverages produced in sachets less than 200ml.

Disclosing this to newsmen, the director-general of NAFDAC, Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, said the five-year window given to the manufacturers of the products to stop producing the drinks in sachets and pet bottles which began in 2028 elapsed on January 31, 2024. She said enforcement of the ban commenced on February 1, 2024.

According to her, the agency took the decision to ban the production of the drinks in such sachets because of the negative effects on underage children. She said because the drinks come in pocket-friendly sizes, accessible and affordable, children easily fell for the packages only to face the consequences in the future.

“This decision was based on the recommendation of a high-powered committee of the Federal Ministry of Health and NAFDAC on one hand, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), and the Industry represented by the Association of Food, Beverages and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), in December 2018.

As a commitment to the decision reached at the end of this Committee meeting, producers of alcohol in sachets and small volume agreed to reduce the production by 5 percent with effect from 31st January 2022 while ensuring the product is completely phased out in the country by 31st January 2024”.

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