Yobe State Government has signed partnership agreement with the Kingdom of Morocco in the areas of agricultural development and youth empowerment as Governor Mai Mala Buni administration took steps to accelerate the socio-economic development of the state.
In agriculture, the two sides will agreed to work towards the resuscitation of the Gujba Fertilizer Blending Plant and putting it back to production so that farmers in Yobe State and across the country will have a steady and dependable source of fertilizer supply.
The agriculture partnership will also explore date farming and animal breeding to tap into the vast agricultural and animal resources in the state and provide employment for thousands of people.
The partnership initiative was the outcome of meeting that Gov. Mala Buni had with the ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco represented by the Deputy Head of Mission, Mr. El Houssaine Oustitane at Moroccan embassy in Abuja, The meeting took place at the Yobe Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro Abuja.
The Deputy Head of Mission,Mr. Oustitane explained that entities and institutions in Morocco desire to partner their counterparts in Nigeria for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries in line with the bilateral cooperation that the two countries have established following President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to the Kingdom recently.
The Moroccon Deputy Head of Mission also said that his country was ready to provide skills acquisition training to youths in Yobe State in the areas of arts and crafts, fashion design, including embroidery and cloth design (kufta and alkyabba), ICT as well as foods and beverages, amongst others.
Governor Mai Mala Buni told the Moroccon diplomat that his administration was set to deliver to the people of the state tangible benefits of democracy, saying as part of that, the proposed partnership with Morocco will be explored for the benefit of the people of the state.
“We will work towards resuscitating the fertilizer blending plant in Yobe…Agriculture is a key area of competitive advantage for the state and we want to swing to action and ensure that the people benefit immensely from the partnership”, he said.
The two sides also discussed that a technical delegation from Morocco will visit Yobe State and vice versa to make concrete all the proposals that could be implemented.
