Govt approves N5.56bn for erosion control in States

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided has approved N5.567 billion for the 3rd Quarter Soil Erosion Control Accelerated Intervention in six states.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina announced this at a news conference in Abuja.

Adesina held the news conference alongside Minister of Agriculture, Mr Audu Ogbeh as well as the Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika.

He gave the names of the benefiting states as Kano, Bayelsa, Sokoto, Ondo, Osun and Enugu state.

Ogbeh disclosed that the Council approved N165 million for the production of improved 30,000 tonnes of foundation seeds for maize by the Institute of Agricultural Research, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

The minister also announced that the council discussed the menace of food smuggling along unauthorized and illegal routes in the country, saying that five billion dollars was being lost to smugglers by the country, annually.