The
President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government of Nigeria has set up
a task force on food security to curb rising cost of food items.
President Buhari
While briefing State House correspondents of the outcome of a
meeting of the Federal Executive Council presided over by Acting
President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday, the Minister of Information,
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, disclosed that the Federal Government has set up a
task force on food security.
The controversial minister, said that the objective of the
taskforce is to look at the causes of increase in the prices of food
items across the country and address them, adding that the Buhari-led
government was concerned about rising costs of food items in the
country.
Speaking while he was joined at the press conference by the
Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; and the Minister of State for
Aviation, Hadi Sirika, Lai said the decision to set up the task force
was aimed at bringing down the prices of foodstuffs, adding that the
committee, which is inter-ministerial in nature, was expected to report
back to the council next week.
The minister said, “The major highlight of the meeting is that
the council resolved to set up a task force on food security. Government
is quite concerned about the rising cost of food items and the fact
that more often than not even when these products are available, when
they reach the market, they are sold at very exorbitant prices.
“So, the government has set up a task force on food security to
ensure that an end is put to the wastages that occur and with tonnes
and tonnes of produce sitting down in the farms going bad or in the
markets getting rotten.
“It is an inter-ministerial committee made up of the Ministers of Agriculture, Finance, Water Resources and Transportation.
“The important thing is to look at what areas of intervention
the government can make. The intervention can be in the area of subsidy
in transportation, that is being worked out but this goes to show that
government is very much concerned about the rising cost of food prices
and we are responding to it.
“The committee hopefully is expected to report back to the
council next week and concrete actions would be taken. Clearly
government is concerned and is trying to do something to bring it down.”
The Senior Special Assistant to the Acting President on Media and
Publicity, Laolu Akande, later issued a statement announcing the
decision of the government to constitute a Presidential Task Force to
urgently consider measures that would ensure a steady flow of produce to
the market and reverse recent price increases.
He quoted Osinbajo as, at the FEC meeting, expressing concern at
some of the inflationary rates of food prices, noting that the Task
Force would explore options to promote availability and affordability of
food items to Nigerians.
According to him, the Task Force, which has seven days to report
back to FEC will consider how to remove some of the cost-raising factors
that come into play between the farms and the markets and therefore
“bring relief to our people.”
He further quoted Osinbajo as saying one of the focus areas of the
task force would be to review the transportation and preservation
processes, and see how government could intervene in those aspects to
bring down food prices.
“The Task Force, which would be meeting with the Acting
President in the discharge of its urgent assignment, will therefore draw
out a practical plan and present same to the Council next week,” he said.
Members of the Task Force, according to Akande, include the
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh;
Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Industry, Trade and
Development, Dr. Okey Enelamah; Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi
Amaechi; Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu; and Minister
of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige.
He said the offices of the Chief of Staff to the President and the
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development
Goals would also be on the task force.
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