In a bid to address the rising food inflation in Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu has declared a state of emergency on food security and unveiled a series of immediate interventions aimed at ensuring food availability and affordability.
Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, special adviser to the president on Special Duties, Communications and Strategy, Dele Alake, outlined the details of the presidential intervention on food security, food pricing, and sustainability.
He said the president recognises the impact of soaring food prices on ordinary Nigerians, and has prioritised supporting the most vulnerable members of society to cope with the situation.
According to him, the president’s immediate response includes the proclamation of a state of emergency on food security and the inclusion of food and water availability and affordability within the purview of the National Security Council.
He said to combat the crisis, a range of initiatives will be implemented in the coming weeks, to address both short-term and long-term interventions.
He said, “As a hands-on leader who follows developments across the country everyday, Mr. President is not unmindful of the rising cost of food and how it affects the citizens.
“While availability is not a problem, affordability has been a major issue to many Nigerians in all parts of the country. This has led to a significant drop in demand, thereby undermining the viability of the entire agriculture and food value chain.”
It is in this wise, he said, President Tinubu took certain actions, including declared a state of emergency on food security; issues of food and water availability and affordability be included within the purview of the National Security Council; while a number of initiatives will be deployed in the coming weeks to reverse the inflationary trend and guarantee future uninterrupted supplies of affordable foods to ordinary Nigerians.
Alake added that as with most emergencies, there are immediate, medium- and long-term interventions and solutions.
In the immediate term, Alake said the government plans to allocate funds previously saved from fuel subsidy removal to revamp the agricultural sector, focusing on increasing productivity.
Immediate intervention strategies, he revealed, includes immediate release fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.
Additionally, Alake said, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources will work together to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands, facilitating year-round food production and eliminating seasonal farming.
To stabilise food prices, he said a National Commodity Board will be established, consisting of various stakeholders from the agricultural sector.
According to him, this board will continuously assess food prices and maintain a strategic food reserve, acting as a price stabilising mechanism for critical grains and other food items.
The presidential spokesman also acknowledged that ensuring the safety of farmers and farmlands is a priority, and said the government will collaborate with the security architecture to protect farmers from attacks, to enable them to carry on with their work without fear.
He further stated that the Central Bank will continue to play a significant role in funding the agricultural value chain, while land banks will be activated to increase the availability of arable land for farming.
Stating that companies will be engaged to clear more forests and make them suitable for farming purposes, he said river basins will be utilized to enable crop planting during the dry season through irrigation schemes to ensure continuous farming production throughout the year which will address the issue of seasonal scarcity.
According to him, transportation and storage challenges will be addressed by exploring alternative means of transportation, such as rail and water transport, to reduce freight costs.
This is just as existing warehouses and storage facilities will be revamped to improve efficiency and minimize food waste.
Alaka further explained that the interventions put forth by President Tinubu’s administration aim not only to ensure food security but also to stimulate the export capacity of the agricultural sector, increasing revenue and creating employment opportunities.
“One of the major positive outcomes of these interventions will be a massive boost in employment and job creation,” he added.
According to him, with agriculture already accounting for about 35.21 percent of employment in Nigeria, the government aims to double this percentage in the long term, creating between 5 to 10 million more jobs within the agricultural value chain.
Tinubu Seeks Approval For $800m World Bank Loan
Meanwhile, President Tinubu has asked the Senate to approve the sum of $800 million as additional funds for the financing of the national social safety net programme set up by the National Assembly.
The request was contained in a letter he forwarded to the Senate through the president of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, which was read on the floor of the Assembly during plenary.
Tinubu explained that the last Federal Executive Council led by President Muhammadu Buhari had approved an additional loan facility to the tune of $800 million to be secured from the World Bank, to finance the Social Safety Net Programme.
He noted further that the purpose of the facility was to expand coverage of shock responsive safety net support for vulnerable Nigerians, to enable them meet the cost of basic needs.
Part of the letter reads: “You may further wish to note that under the conditional cash transfer window of the programme, the federal government of Nigeria will transfer the sum of N8,000 a month to 12 million poor and low income households for a period of six months with a multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals.
“In order to guarantee the credibility of the process, digital transfers will be made directly to beneficiaries’ accounts and mobile wallets.
“It is expected that the programme will stimulate economic activities in the informal sector and improve nutrition, health and education outcomes for beneficial households.”
After reading the letter, the Senate President referred it to the Committee of the Whole for further legislative action.
President Tinubu has also requested the House to approve the $800 million loan for the federal government from the World Bank to fund the National Social Safety Network Programme.
This was contained in a letter entitled: “Request for Approval of Additional Financing of the National Social Safety Network Programme by the National Assembly”, read by Speaker Abbas yesterday.
Reps Pass N500bn Request for Palliatives
The House of Representatives has passed a bill to make provision for N500 billion palliatives to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians.
The bill passed through both second and third readings after clause-by-clause consideration by the Committee on Supply, chaired by the Speaker, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, at plenary yesterday.
The amendment bill is sequel to a request by President Bola Tinubu to the House on Wednesday to extract N500 billion from the 2022 supplementary budget to provide palliatives for subsidy removal.
The legislation was entitled “A Bill for an Act to Authorise the issuance of the sum of N500bn only from the 2022 Supplementary Appropriations of N819, 536, 937, 815.00 only, for the provision of palliatives to Nigerians to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal”.
The leader of the House, Professor Julius Ihonvbere (APC, Edo) moved that the bill be read for the second time and he was seconded by the Minority Leader, Hon. Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers).
Leading debate on the general principles of the bill, Ihonvbere said since the removal of fuel subsidy, there have been calls on the government to provide some measures to cushion the effects.
He said many members had also moved motions calling for the provision of palliatives and the government had listened to the concerns, adding that the executive bill was in response to the cries of the people.
On his part, Hon. Ahmed Jaha (APC, Borno) commended President Tinubu for taking the bull by its horns by removing fuel subsidy which other administrations could do due to fear of losing popularity.
“It is good to provide funds in order to provide palliatives to Nigerians who are hard hit by the effect of fuel subsidy removal. The funds provided should be used for the purpose intended, not as it has been the practice before when monies appropriated for a purpose are diverted to other areas or ourightly stolen,” he said.
Similarly, the leader of the opposition, Chinda supported the quick passage of the bill, considering its positive intentions but cautioned against improper implementation of the palliative programme.
“The concerns of Nigerians will always be the implementation of these palliatives. We want a positive effect on Nigerians. We have bills that are skyrocketing; we want palliatives that we give, not minimum wage but living wage to Nigerians, a palliative that will allow us to breathe and not to suffocate the ordinary man, as Mr President said.”
