Posted by By LUCKY NWANKWERE, Abuja on
President Umaru Yar'Adua has said Nigeria will give maximum support to all projects and programmes of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Nigeria, because they are targeted at helping the poor and vulnerable in society.
President Umaru Yar'Adua has said Nigeria will give maximum support to all projects and programmes of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Nigeria, because they are targeted at helping the poor and vulnerable in society.
He gave this assurance in Abuja yesterday when he received the Secretary-General of IFAD, Mr. Paolo Ciocca, who came to brief him on the appointment of Nigeria as Chairman of the IFAD Governing Council for the next two years, beginning with the 31st meeting holding from next week.
'IFAD is an extremely important intervention institution, whose programmes are directed at the poor who need assistance. These carefully designed economic programmes help raise income levels for families, and will help less developed countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals. We will therefore support them", he stated.
President Yar'Adua expressed appreciation to IFAD for honouring Nigeria with the chairmanship of the governing council, assuring Ciocca that his administration would support the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abba Ruma to successfully execute this very crucial responsibility.
Earlier, the IFAD Secretary-General had said Nigeria 's new role as chairman of the governing council was crucial, because, apart from the prominence of agriculture in the administration's Seven-Point Agenda, the country would play an important role in the fund's monetary replenishment process which would begin at the next meeting.
He also said IFAD was celebrating 30 years of existence, and thanked President Yar'Adua for giving priority to agriculture and food security.