Rivers State governor , Nyesom Wike, has charged the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to support the state $ 12 m Cassava Processing Initiative aimed at job creation and food security .
Wike who gave the charge during a meeting with the board of the Rivers Cassava Processing Company Limited at the Government House , Port Harcourt, said the initiative would also earn foreign exchange for the country .
The governor in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kelvin Ebiri , said the state government ought to enjoy the support of the CBN in its endeavour to boost food production .
He further said that if Rivers Cassava Processing Company was encouraged , the country ’s dependence on imported cassava products would drastically reduce .
The governor regretted that the CBN had failed to accede to Rivers State Government request for N5 bn to boost the agriculture in the state , saying if part of the N5 bn was invested in cassava initiative , it would reduce unemployment rate.
