The federal government has announced this week that it would unlock its food facilities across the country to arrest the current scarcity and high-cost of foodstuff in the country.
During the emergency meeting held, the Minister of Information and National Orientation Mr Mohammed Idris said this while briefing State House correspondents on the rising cost of living chaired by the Chief of Staff to the President Mr Femi Gbajabiamila.
The minister said the federal government was concerned about what Nigerians are going through occasioned by the rising cost of living, especially what happened in Minna, Niger state.
He said the government is taking some actions to ensure that Nigerians have some relief in terms of the availability of food across the country.
The minister also expressed concern that some people were taking advantage of the high cost of living and the depreciation in the value of the Naira which has led to the high cost of food items.
“We just rounded up a meeting. It is a special presidential committee to address the issue of food shortage or lack of enough food on the table of most Nigerians.
“This is just the beginning of that meeting. It is going to continue tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. The government is very concerned about what Nigerians are going through, especially what happened in Minna yesterday, and therefore the government is taking some action to ensure that Nigerians have some relief in terms of the availability of food on the table.
“Of course, this meeting is not by itself exhaustive. It’s just like I said, the beginning. It is going to continue tomorrow and the day after. Now, some of these will involve unlocking the foods that are available in most of the storage facilities (National Food Reserve) around the country. You know that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has some food reserves. That is going to be made available to Nigerians.
“The government is also talking to major millers and major commodity traders, to also see what is available in their stores. To open it up, so that government will provide some intervention, discuss with them provide some intervention to make this food available to Nigerians.
“What the government is noticing is that there is still food in this country. Some people are taking advantage of the situation especially because of the high cost, the depreciation in the value of our currency that has led to the cost of these food items also going up.
“So all these issues were discussed. The governor of the central bank was here. The Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister for the Economy were in that meeting. Of course, the Chief of Staff, the National Security Adviser, because it also has some national security implications. So all these have been discussed. And like I said, this conversation or discussion is going to continue.
“What I will tell Nigerians is that the President has directed that government needs to step in to stem this tide. The government will not fold its arms and see the way Nigerians are suffering in terms of the availability of these food items.
”So I want to plead with you to understand with the government. By the time these meetings are concluded, we’ll be able to issue a definite statement on what the position of government is in this regard. But all I can say is that discussions are ongoing, and very soon a solution is in sight for Nigerians,” he said.
