Ex-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has congratulated his former
\nminister of agriculture and President of the African Development Bank,
\nDr. Akinwumi Adesina over his emergence as the 2017 World Food Prize
\nlaureate, describing him as a man of exceptional work ethic.<\/p>\n
The former President defined Dr. Adeshina as the man who transformed
\nagriculture in Nigeria by introducing several innovations that changed
\nthe face of farming, boosted the capacity of farmers and expanded the
\nnation’s ability to feed herself.<\/p>\n
Media adviser to the ex-President, Ikechukwu Eze in a statement in
\nAbuja said Dr. Jonathan stated this in a letter of goodwill to Adesina
\nwhich the former President personally signed.<\/p>\n
Jonathan also noted that during Adesina\u2019s years as agriculture
\nminister, staple food prices remained stable, even in the face of
\nserious challenges like the devastating floods of 2012 and the
\n\u201cdifficulties occasioned then by global economic recession.\u201d<\/p>\n
The letter reads:
\n\u201cI wish to most sincerely congratulate you for your emergence as the
\nWorld Food Prize Laureate for the year 2017.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not surprised that such a highly prized honour has being
\nconferred on you, given your outstanding and exemplary performance as
\nmy former Minister of Agriculture.<\/p>\n
\u201cI must state that I have met many men in my years on earth, but few
\nhave the intellect and the exceptional work ethic you possess.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring your years as Nigeria’s agriculture minister and driver of my
\nadministration\u2019s Agricultural Transformation Agenda (ATA), you
\nintroduced several innovations like the e-wallet fertilizer and seed
\ndistribution system which cut out the middle man, eliminated
\ncorruption and expanded Nigeria’s ability to feed herself.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou oversaw a programme that reduced our food import bill by almost
\n50%, and working with others in my administration, you helped Nigeria
\nbecome one of only a handful of nations in the world to reasonably
\nreduce hunger levels between 2011-2015, according to the International
\nFood Policy Research Institute.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder your guidance, Nigeria came out of the devastating floods of
\n2012 without a famine. I am always delighted by the fact that within
\nthat period, and throughout the period of our administration, staple
\nfood prices remained stable, even with the difficulty occasioned then
\nby global economic recession.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that these accomplishments and other laudable achievements
\nyou recorded in your continuing service to humanity, set you apart as
\nthe most deserving candidate for this award.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am proud of you, Akin. Please accept my congratulations on behalf
\nof my family, and all those who served with me during my
\nadministration.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ex-President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has congratulated his former minister of agriculture and President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina over his emergence as the 2017 World Food Prize…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n