FG to review concession of 17 silos

The federal government has announced plans to review the Silos Concession Programme to ensure a robust, effective, and efficient food storage system. Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during a high-level meeting with a delegation from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC). He stressed the urgent […]

The federal government has announced plans to review the Silos Concession Programme to ensure a robust, effective, and efficient food storage system.

Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during a high-level meeting with a delegation from the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC).

He stressed the urgent need to revitalize silo storage facilities across the country.

“Out of the 17 silo complexes concessioned to five private companies, only Flour Mills of Nigeria, which operates three silo complexes under three separate Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), has met all conditions and is performing optimally,” Kyari said.

• A/Ibom declares two medical doctors wanted for abandoning duty
• Court strikes out suit challenging Rivers emergency rule, LG poll

He explained that storage facilities are central to the government’s food security drive, as they directly reduce wastage and guarantee year-round availability of staple crops.

According to him, the review is also a critical strategy to cut Nigeria’s post-harvest losses, currently estimated at $10 billion annually.

Kyari noted that several concessionaires failed to put silo facilities into proper use despite existing agreements. Monitoring visits revealed little or no progress in some facilities, with reports of vandalism and perimeter fence collapse in locations such as Ikorodu and Ogoja.

ICRC Director General, Dr. Jobson Oseodian Ewalefoh, emphasized that only private companies with genuine operational needs for silos should be retained.

He also urged the federal government to reclaim abandoned silos, pointing out that some concessionaires have failed to remit the required returns to government coffers.