Nigerians may heave a sigh of relief this yuletide as a shipment of 25,000 tons of Ukrainian grain is about to be transported from the Turkish port of Samsun to Nigeria to help tackle deficits from grains.
A statement by the Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, said this shipment is part of the grain program of Ukraine even in the face of its war with Russia. The Envoy noted that the grain is currently being stored in Turkey under the aegis of the United Nations World Food Program.
The envoy also examined the port and the Fuat Sezgin vessel, which will convey the cargo to Nigeria even as he hinted about preparations to deliver another 60 ships from other ports.
“During the Black Sea Grain Initiative, this grain was delivered in bulk from one of the ports in Ukraine,” he stated.
“It is now being held in Turkey under the aegis of the United Nations World Food Program. It is critical for us to work with the World Food Program to send grain to countries like Nigeria.”
The skipper of the vessel bringing Ukrainian grain to Africa told Ukrinform that the consignment was scheduled to arrive in Nigeria in about a month.
“The grain that will be loaded on the ship for about 10 more days is 25,000 tons, we will depart for Nigeria after loading. The journey to the Nigerian coast will take another 20 days, depending on weather conditions,” he said.
Nigeria’s former Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyema, and his counterpart in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mohammad Abubakar, had signed the “Grains from Ukraine Project” in Abuja in January with Ukrainian Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, Mykola Solskyi.
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia disrupted the global supply of grains causing huge shortages and leading to countries suffering from food hunger, particularly sub-Saharan Africa.
