Vice President Kashim Shettima on Monday declared that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is fully committed to reviving Nigeria’s cocoa industry, with a strategic shift from raw cocoa production to large-scale processing aimed at boosting value addition and creating jobs for the nation’s growing youthful population.
The Vice President made this known while receiving a delegation from the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), led by its President, Mr. Chris Vincent, at the State House, Abuja.
The Vice President, however, said the administration is putting everything in place to ensure that Nigeria moves from mere producer of cocoa to a processor of cocoa by promoting sustainable cocoa farming and forest preservation.
The high-level meeting comes at a time of surging global cocoa prices and increasing demand for sustainably sourced products.
According to a statement issued by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima noted that it is in a bid to return to the drawing board in respect of revamping the nation’s cocoa industry that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently approved the establishment of a National Cocoa Management Board (NCMB).