Fishermen union appeals to FG for fishing vessels

The Nigeria Union of Fishermen and Seafood Dealers (NUFAS) has called on the federal government to assist its members by providing them with fishing vessels and trawlers to boost their business across the country.
Speaking yesterday in Kaduna after a meeting chaired by its national President, Alhaji Sani Usman Rilwan, NUFAS reminded the government of their written proposals and letter to the office of the President and Minister of Agriculture on the need for government to assist them.
Rilwan said the Union, with over 15 million registered members across the country, decided to cry out to government to look into its plight and help it boost food supply towards achieving food security in the country.
The union also urged federal and state governments to look into the challenges facing fishermen and seafood dealers and “assist us to obtain fishing vessel at reasonable costs to enable us continue to contribute to the economy of the nation from our trade.
“We want the Federal Government to assist us and connect the Union with investors to partner and purchase all needed tools including trawlers and vessels for us.
We also want state governments to build modern fish market in their respective states for food security and revenue generation,” he added.
Coordinators from the six geopolitical zones of the country attended the meeting, including national executive committee members.
According to the fishermen union president, the Union which has many cooperative societies has been in existence for more than 30 years as a registered organization, thus it needed more government incentives to execute its lawful duties.
He however appealed to members to rally round the union to enable it withstand hard times, just as he noted that majority of the members have not done enough to assist the Union.
Alhaji Rilwan therefore called on individual members to assist the Union in any capacity to survive.