Mohammed Shosanya
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared a state of emergency on food security.
Special Adviser to the President, Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Dele Alake announced the development at the Presidential Villa Abuja on Thursday.
He said the federal government would in the coming weeks deploy savings from subsidy removal to food production, including other measures geared to reducing the price of food in the market.
Alake also gave indications that the administration is determined to ensure that Nigerians do not struggle with their essential needs.
He said strategic ranches would be established to mitigate cost of food essentials.
The President, Ugwumba Leadership Centre for Africa, Uche Nwosu, hailed President Bola Tinubu, for declaring a state of emergency on Food Security, Pricing and Sustainability.
Nwosu, in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, said that the President “has demonstrated his understanding, and appreciation of the impact of the removal of subsidy on Petrol Motor Spirit (PMS), on Nigerians, especially the economy of households.”
The statement also explained that “The current food inflation in the country has been a cause of concern to stakeholders, as hopes have in most recent times heightened that the administration would quickly find immediate, long lasting, and innovative solutions to the hardship experienced by citizens as a result of this.
“But by prioritizing urgent intervention through the declaration of a state of emergency in this area, Mr President has left no one in doubt that he is “a hands-on- leader who follows developments across the country everyday.”
He has further shown that he is not unmindful of the rising cost of food and how it affects the citizens.”
The former Chief of Staff to the Imo State government said that he agreed with some areas in the President’s speech.
“As a direct and immediate response to this crisis, a number of initiatives will be deployed in the coming weeks to reverse this inflationary trend and guarantee future uninterrupted supplies of affordable foods to ordinary Nigerians.
“As with most emergencies, there are immediate, medium- and long-term interventions and solutions,” the statement added.
“This is even as I commend the administration’s intention to deploy some savings from the fuel subsidy removal into the Agricultural sector focusing on revamping the agricultural sector, as well as to immediately release fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.
“I join President Tinubu to urge for synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all-year round.
“Nigeria must, as a matter of necessity, have a National Commodity Board that will review and continuously assess food prices as well as maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilization mechanism for critical grains and other food items.
Through this board, the government will moderate spikes and dips in food prices,” Nwosu maintained.