Arewa Think Tank Hails Tinubu, Agric Minister Over Drop In Food Prices

The Arewa Think Tank (ATT) has commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, for what it described as a significant reduction in food prices nationwide.

The group attributed the development to the administration’s emergency intervention in the agricultural sector.

The group’s convener, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, stated at the weekend that the decline in food prices indicates that President Tinubu’s food security measures are beginning to yield tangible results.

“We want to praise President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, for their efforts in reducing food prices in Nigeria,” Yakubu stated.

He pointed out that the federal government’s decision to open a temporary importation window for essential food commodities—including maize, husked brown rice, wheat, and cowpeas—stabilised the market without discouraging local production.

Yakubu further noted that the government’s distribution of two million bags of fertiliser to farmers free of charge, along with subsidies providing fertiliser at 50 per cent of the cost, significantly boosted agricultural output.

He added that additional interventions, such as providing farmers with improved seeds, seedlings, and agrochemicals, were also instrumental in increasing food availability.

Yakubu said, “What we are witnessing today is the result of deliberate policy interventions by the Tinubu-led administration to address structural imbalances in Nigeria’s agriculture sector.”

The ATT noted that Minister Kyari’s recent remarks on national television—where he defended the dual strategy of production support and temporary imports—aligned with President Tinubu’s directive to crash food prices through coordinated measures by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) committee on food security.

The group acknowledged that while challenges remain, Nigerians should appreciate the current administration’s efforts, especially given the state of the sector when President Tinubu assumed office.

“President Tinubu inherited a deeply flawed food security architecture in 2023, which prompted the declaration of a state of emergency on food security in July of that year. His swift and bold actions are now beginning to produce results,” Yakubu added.