As part of moves to improve the nation’s economy, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly have been tasked to unravel the palm oil levy shrouded in secrecy.
Former Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara made the call, emphasizing the importance of the levy earmarked for the development plan.
Dogara, who made the call at a meeting with National Association of National Palm Producers Association of Nigeria (NPPAN) in Abuja, declared that the nation could earn N16.2 trillion from oil palm cultivation with a period of five years.
He disclosed that the oil palm cultivation could be revived by engaging 2,500,000 households from states with suitable terrain for growing palm trees and empower each of them to cultivate one hectare.
According to Dogara, each hectare could take 150 trees which could generate an average of N5, 000,000 per annum.
He said if this is multipled by 2,500,000, it would give a total of 375,000,000 trees that can generate up to N16. 2 trillion per annum within a period of five years.
Dogara said: “Throughout my 16 years in the National Assembly, I didn’t have any reason to think about oil palm levy, though I know that it was instituted by Obasanjo’s government in 2001.
“So, that money has been there, accumulating in the CBN, assuming, we are believing that CBN still has the money.
‘’I am happy that members of the National Assembly are here, it is their responsibility to throw open accounts and investigate if this money is there.
“It must have risen to hundreds of billions by now so we don’t even have to look for money. I believe the media should amplify this discussion to know if the money is there or not.
“The president should, in the national interest, look into the administration of this funds, the whereabouts. If it is there, there is no issue, we don’t have any problem. But if that money is not there, whoever has taken that money should face the music.’’
‘’This venture (oil palm development) will be taking so many families out of poverty, so it is something that has to be done. I’ll also suggest that for us to make progress, maybe there will be a need for the president to constitute a presidential implementation committee on oil palm development in Nigeria. Let him escalate the thing to a point whereby almost on a monthly basis, there will be briefings as to progress made in this direction,’’ adding that it will inject up to ‘’16.2 billion (or trillion?) into the economy.”