By Fortune Eromosele, ABUJA
Former Chief of Staff to the Imo State Governor and President Ugwumba Leadership Center for Africa, Uche Nwosu, has said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu used the declaration of state of emergency on food security as a platform to cushion the impact of the fuel subsidy removal.
Nwosu in a statement, also lauded Tinubu for his decision, saying that it was the right call.
The statement read in part: “The recent declaration of a state of emergency on food security, pricing and sustainability by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is no doubt a welcome development.
“The President by this action has demonstrated his understanding, and appreciation of the impact of the removal of subsidy on Petrol Motor Spirit (PMS), on Nigerians, especially the economy of households.
“The current food inflation in the country has been a cause of concern to stakeholders, as hope have in most recent times heightened that the administration would quickly find immediate, long lasting, and innovative solutions to the hardship experienced by citizens as a result of this.
“But by prioritizing urgent intervention through the declaration of a state of emergency in this area, Mr President has left no one in doubt that he is a hands-on-leader who follows developments across the country everyday.
“He has further shown that he is not unmindful of the rising cost of food and how it affects the citizens.
“I therefore agree with the following thematic areas of focus contained in the President’s speech, which underscored that ‘As a direct and immediate response to this crisis, a number of initiatives will be deployed in the coming weeks to reverse this inflationary trend and guarantee future uninterrupted supplies of affordable foods to ordinary Nigerians. As with most emergencies, there are immediate, medium- and long-term interventions and solutions’.
Nwosu further commended the administration’s intention to deploy some savings from the fuel subsidy removal into the Agricultural sector focusing on revamping the agricultural sector, as well as to immediately release fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.
He said, “I join President Tinubu to urge for synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all-year round.
“Nigeria must, as a matter of necessity, have a National Commodity Board that will review and continuously assess food prices as well as maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilization mechanism for critical grains and other food items.
“Through this board, the government will moderate spikes and dips in food prices.”
Source: Vanguard
