The Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) and Fertilisers Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) have donated N1.77 billion to the campaign of President Muhammadu Buhari who seeks a second term in 2019.

The donations were announced Wednesday night during a Gala Night organised by beneficiaries of the government’s Anchor Borrowers Programme which held at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The two groups said Mr Buhari has changed the fortunes of the agriculture sector by bringing unprecedented change which has empowered them.
Announcing the donation of N1.2 billion on behalf of rice farmers, the president of RIFAN, Aminu Goronyo, said apart from the increasing progress in the sector, the president’s policies have also resulted in savings of billions of naira for the country.

Mr Goronyo said RIFAN has a membership of about 12.2 million and that each member will donate N100 to the campaign which translates to N1.2 billion.
Mr Goronyo said more fertilisers were made available to them easily in the last three years.

“All these achievements are from your commitments and favorable policies to agriculture,” he said
Similarly, president of Fertilisers Producers and Supplies Association of Nigeria, Thomas Etuh, said N120 billion was saved in two years from fertiliser subsidy.

He then announced that FEPSAN is contributing N570 million to the re-election bid of the president.
Mr Buhari, who thanked them for the gesture, said statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) have confirmed that his administration’s policies are yielding results.

He said he inherited “a broken system in the agricultural sector in 2015.”

“Seeing your faces and hearing your stories give me hope. Today, we are on track to achieving an all-inclusive economy.”

At the event, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, said the Anchor Borrowers programme launched on November 17, 2015, has resulted in the saving of $800 million.