With a few days to this year’s Ramadan, some residents in Damaturu, the state capital, have expressed worry over the high cost of food items and fruits in the market.
They have urged the state government and the Ministry of Religion Affairs to address the rising cost of food in the state.
The residents, who spoke with LEADERSHIP in separate interviews on Wednesday, lamented that the high cost of food items had continued to strain their finances.
They also blamed the high cost of commodities and staple foods on the rising cost of energy, especially petrol, which they claimed had a ripple effect on transportation and logistics.
Also, speaking, a civil servant, Mallam Mohammed Usman, said that, but the cost of everything else has. Before, I could afford to buy a full basket of tomatoes for N1,500, but now that basket costs N2,000 or more. I don’t know how we are supposed to manage.
Another resident, Hajiya Fatima Wada, lamented that the rising prices in Damaturu, the state capital, had affected her household budget, causing her family to forsake some essentials.
She said, “I used to budget N10,000 for my weekly grocery shopping.
Now, that same amount barely covers half of what it used to. Everything is more expensive in Damaturu despite the reduction in the price of goods in some parts of the country. Rice, beans, vegetables, and even palm oil are gone.
A resident, Mallam Sabo, lamented that despite the high cost of living, employers had failed to increase the salaries of local government and teachers their employees in the state.
He noted that his current salary could not sufficiently cover his family while urging the Yobe State government to find a means of alleviating the hardship on residents during Ramadan.
LEADERSHIP gathered from credible sources that the state government will soon establish the Yobe State Marketing and Commodity Board, ensuring food items are sold at normal prices.
He called on the state government’s collaboration with the Ministry of Religion Affairs to intervene swiftly.
Our Correspondent observed that the prices of major food items such as Yam, rice, Maize, beans, wheat, Millet, Spaghetti, and Macaroni go up daily.
The commissioner for Religion Affairs and Ethical Re-orientation, Alhaji Yusuf Umar Potiskum, has appealed to farmers and traders in the state to reduce the cost of food items in the spirit of Ramadan.
