A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Special Adviser to the National Youth Leader of the party, Asiwaju Saheed Oloko, has called on the Ogun State Government to increase its support for the Food Crops Marketing Board (FCMB) to enable the Board scale-up the production capacity of its Gateway Food Processing hub from one tonne to five tonnes per week.
Oloko made the call when he visited the Special Assistant to the Governor on FCMB and Team Lead, Gateway Foods, Hon. Abdul Majeed Junaid in his Office at the M.K.O Abiola International Trade Fair Complex, Abeokuta stating that the enormous opportunities of the Food Processing hub were currently under maximized due to low production capacity.
The Special Adviser on Youth Engagements to APC National Youth Leader (Oloko Saheed) noted that an increase in the production capacity of the hub would “invariably give more youths access to gainful employment as well as increase food security for the good people of the state and earn great revenue for the state both locally and internationally”.
He commended the impact of Hon. Junaid as Team Lead of the Board for his dynamic leadership which helped Gateway Foods birth Gateway Fufu Powder, Gateway Garri and Gateway Ofada Rice adding that the Team Lead was an example that the youth inclusion drive of the present administration was a step in the right direction which should be continued during the second tenure of Governor Abiodun.
Oloko stated that the National Youth Leader of the Party, Hon. Dayo Israel was proud of the Special Assistant assuring that the Office of the National Youth Leader would collaborate with the Food Crops Marketing Board as soon as the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu assumed Office.
Also speaking, the Special Assistant to the Governor on FCMB and Team Lead Gateway Foods, Hon. Abdul Majeed Junaid said the production capacity of the Gateway Food Processing hub when increased to five tonnes would make the hub self-sufficient without recourse to the State Government for operational and running costs adding that the three products produced at the hub, Gateway Fufu Powder, Gateway Garri and Gateway Ofada Rice were attracting demand from customers locally and internationally, specifically in Ogun State, Kogi and Lagos States, Abuja, the United Kingdom, Ghana and South Africa respectively.
He noted that the products were already placing Ogun State on the global map as a leading Cassava and Rice producing State as well as boosting food security and employment generation.