- Ohanaeze urges President to consult Okonjo-Iweala, Adesina, others on economic recovery
As a short-term response to address the food shortage in the country, President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate release of various food items from the strategic reserve.
The Rice Millers Association of Nigeria is to also complement the Federal Government’s efforts.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is to release about 42,000 metric tons of maize, millet, garri and other commodities in their strategic reserve.
Also, the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria has agreed to make available about 60,000 metric tons of rice.
The government is also putting machinery in place to import any food item with shortfalls within the country.
These were the outcomes of the meeting of the Special Presidential Committee on Emergency Food Intervention on Thursday at the State House.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, told journalists that the government is prepared to sanction food hoarders.
Idris said, “The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has been directed to release about 42,000 metric tons of maize, millet, garri and other commodities in their strategic reserve so that these items will be made available to Nigerians.
“We have held meetings with the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria; those who are responsible for producing this rice and we have asked them to open up their storage facilities.
“They’ve told us that they can guarantee about 60,000 metric tons of rice. This will be made available and we know that that is enough to take Nigerians the next one month to six weeks, perhaps up to two months.
“Now the government is also looking at the possibility, if it becomes absolutely necessary as an interim measure, to also import some of these commodities immediately so that these commodities can be made available to Nigerians immediately within the next couple of weeks.
“Now the whole idea of this is to crash the cost of these food items. And these are measures that will happen immediately.”
Idris noted that the emergency situation of ensuring food is available to Nigerians requires emergency measures.
“This is an emergency situation. Every nation faces emergency situations like this. It is not the first time that it has happened. Many countries of the world have faced this.
“It is our own time to face this challenge. Government is going to respond adequately and it is already responding adequately.
“The President has directed that whatever it will take, food will be available to Nigerians at a cost that is also very reasonable. And that is what the summary of this meeting entails,” he said.
Ohanaeze urges President to consult Okonjo-Iweala, Adesina, others on economic recovery
Meanwhile, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, has advised President Bola Tinubu to consult distinguished economists to help rectify and reconstruct the nation’s economy.
The group stated that by utilising the expertise of economists such as former Minister of Finance and current Director-General, World Trade Organisation, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; economic policy expert, Oby Ezekwesili; and the President, African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina; among others, the nation’s “economic recovery can be swiftly devised,” adding that such will bring a reduction in the “burdensome cost of governance.”
However, Ohanaeze cautioned that the consultations should be made “solely based on their merits and not tribal affiliations.”
This was disclosed on Thursday in a statement by the group’s Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro.
He noted that the nation’s economy has been marred by high prices of essential commodities in the markets, as this has consequently increased hunger among the populace.
The group, in the statement, read, “As Nigerians continue to bear the brunt of these challenges, the prices of essential commodities skyrocket, engendering widespread anguish and anger.
“The unhindered pain of hunger has become unbearable for the people, exacerbated by the weakening Naira due to foreign exchange complications.
“The exhaustion of Nigerians towards empty promises from the Federal Government necessitates immediate action to instill calm amidst the populace.”
It “adamantly asserts that seeking assistance from distinguished economists such as Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, and other reputable experts, solely based on their merits and not tribal affiliations, is crucial in rectifying and reconstructing the economy for the betterment of Nigeria.”
Ohanaeze urged Tinubu that “the path to success lies in concrete and genuine consultations with the aforementioned world-renowned economists.”
The group told Tinubu “to heed our impassioned plea and promptly undertake the necessary steps to secure a prosperous future for every Nigerian.”
The group lamented that the current economic team of the Tinubu-led administration was deficient in “ideas, competencies, and willpower,” which further “underscores the urgency” for the President “to undertake a comprehensive overhaul.”
“The evident dearth of ideas, competencies, and willpower within the current economic team further underscores the urgency for Tinubu to undertake a comprehensive overhaul.
“The Nigerian populace’s patience is rapidly dwindling, and the nation teeters precariously on the brink,” the statement added.
Ohanaeze noted that the “Nigerian populace’s patience is rapidly dwindling, and the nation teeters precariously on the brink.”
“In conclusion, Ohanaeze Ndigbo wholeheartedly pledges an unwavering commitment to championing the rights and interests of all Igbos and Nigerians. Urgency and resolute action must be taken to address the prevailing economic hardships besieging our nation,” the group’s secretary-general stated.
A Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday ordered the Federal Government to fix the prices of goods and petroleum products within seven days.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa specifically ordered the government to fix the prices of milk, flour, salt, sugar, bicycles, and their spare parts, matches, motorcycles and their spare parts, motor vehicles and their spare parts as well as petroleum products, which include diesel, Premium Motor Spirit and kerosene.
This followed a protest by some youths and women of Niger State who took to the streets of Minna, protesting over what they called the biting hardship and the rising cost of living in the country.
