Mr Yakubu Dogara, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has appealed to the Federal Government to release the accumulated 25 per cent palm oil levy.

Dogara made the appeal at his investiture ceremony as the National Grand Patron of the National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN) by the association on Thursday in Abuja.

He said that the levy, charged on all import of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) into the country, had accrued since 2001.

Dogara said the levy was purposely for the funding of smallholder oil palm farmers in the country to produce massively.

He said 600 million dollars spent annually on palm oil importation was unacceptable

Dogara said that from 2001 to date, the 25 per cent fund had not been released to the targeted populace.

“There is 25 per cent palm oil levy charged on all import of CPO into this country; since 2001, though I have been in National Assembly for 16 years, I do not know where the money is.

“l am sure of the rice and sugar level how it has been deployed over time but the resources from palm oil levy are there; so if we can activate the release of this resources, that is enough for us to start with.

“The gesture will enable the country to become not only self-sufficient in palm oil production but a net exporter of the product as it was in the 60s when Nigeria was the largest producer and exporter.’’

The former speaker identified palm oil as having enormous opportunities and potential.

“Giving the industry the needed attention and enabling policies will boost the country’s economy and increase Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by N16 trillion per year.’’

Dogara urged the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to constitute a presidential intervention committee on oil palm to develop the industry to become the second-largest palm oil producer globally after Indonesia, against the present fifth position.

Speaking at his conferment, Dogara said he accepted the offer based on the fact that millions of Nigerians could be lifted out of poverty by utilising the opportunities provided by the industry.

He said leadership was all about responsibility, adding that there was nothing too heavy, too hard or too difficult for him, especially when it concerned the downtrodden masses and people that had no opportunities.

“These are people that have been classified nationally and internationally as multi-dimensionally poor.

“We always celebrate our problems; that is why we make them bigger; it is time for us now to fight for the solutions.

“I like when people sit together and they are talking about solutions rather than the problem, l will always be there.

“Since the endeavour in NPPAN is to bring people out of poverty, l will try all l can to assist the association and the country to achieve the target of lifting 2.5 million households out of poverty,’’ he said.

Dogara said he would immediately swing into action by initiating discussion with policy makers at the National Assembly.

Earlier, Amb. Alphonsus Inyang, the President of NPPAN, said the association’s selection of Dogara as national grand patron was based on his political trajectory as a leader that believed in results and solutions.

Inyang identified Dogara as a goal-getter who knows how to negotiate in the corridors of power to get things done accordingly.

“We have made the right choice by working with him; we want to make the industry a millionaire industry like in Malaysia and Indonesia, create millionaires out of Nigerian households which was achievable for Dogara coming on board.

“His appointment is going to change the industry to a multi-billion dollars economy.

“He has made a declaration of 2.5 million families to be lifted out of poverty; Indonesia has done it with 16 million families using oil palm; so Nigeria can do same with Dogara as our national grand patron.

“We expect to see in the next five years, 2.5million Nigerian households being lifted out of poverty through the cultivation of just one hectre per family” he said.