Aregbesola, Lai Mohammed, Ogbeh bag awards in Osun

Osun State governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed and Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, were honoured during the 2017 cocoa festival, which took place at Eti-Oni in Osun State on Friday.

The awards were in recognition of their contributions to agriculture and tourism. The Chief Executive Officer/ Vice Chairman of the Osun Produce Board, Dr Yemi Adegoke, who represented Governor Aregbesola and received the plaque on his behalf, said the governor remained committed to agriculture and deserved the honour.

“Governor Aregbesola set up the produce board to make sure farmers in this state increase quality and quantity of their produce and make profit as well as generate revenue for the state. Our governor has been promoting agriculture and he deserves honour,” he said.

The Minister of Information and Culture and that of Agriculture were given the award of “Overall Outstanding Performance in Agriculture” and “Tourism for Sustainable Development”.

The Osun Rural Enterprise and Agriculture Programme (O-REAP) also bagged an award which was received by the Senior Special Assistance (SSA) to Governor Aregbesola on O-REAP, Mr Femi Komolafe, who said the state government has been supporting cocoa farmers with 200,000 seedlings annually with other financial and agricultural materials.

Mr Godwin Emefiele, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, also bagged the award for “Cocoa Renaissance in Nigeria”, which was presented to him by Oba Saheed Ademola, Elegushi Kusenla III. this