The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has debunked claims circulating on social media suggesting that a recent staff prayer session was part of the government’s official strategy to tackle food security challenges in Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Assistant Information Officer Ezeaja Ikemefuna, speaking on behalf of the Director of Information at the Ministry, clarified that the event was internally organised by the Department of Human Resource Management.
According to the Ministry, the session, themed “Divine Intervention for Protection and National Development,” was held in response to the recent deaths of several senior management staff members.
“The prayer was to address the apprehensiveness of staff over the recent untimely and successive deaths of management staff of the Ministry,” the statement read.
“Staff also deemed it not out of place to pray for the country.”
The Ministry stressed that the prayer session was not an official policy directive but one of several internal welfare initiatives aimed at improving the morale and well-being of staff.
Other efforts include monthly aerobic sessions and the recent establishment of a staff gym.
Reaffirming its commitment to national food security, the Ministry outlined several major programmes being implemented under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
These include the deployment of over 1,000 tractors to boost mechanised farming and the distribution of over 100,000 metric tonnes of grains and rice to stabilise market prices.
The Ministry also highlighted the donation of 2.15 million bags of fertiliser by the Central Bank of Nigeria to combat food inflation and the ₦1.5 trillion recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture to enhance financing access for farmers.
Further interventions include the launch of the National Electronic Extension Platform (NEEP) to support digital outreach to farmers, the ongoing $600 million World Bank-funded rural road rehabilitation under RAAMP, and input distribution through the National Agricultural Growth Scheme Agro-Pocket (NAGS-AP).
To improve data integrity and farmer access to resources, the Ministry is also collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) on farmer registration and verification.
Concluding the statement, the Ministry reiterated that the prayer session was never intended to replace or downplay the structured, policy-driven initiatives currently being implemented to secure Nigeria’s food and nutrition landscape.
