Mohammed Idris, Minister of Information and National Orientation, has stated that in order to lessen the impact of food inflation on the populace, the federal government intends to unlock the national food reserves.
Idris said this on Wednesday while speaking with reporters in Abuja.
Recall that on Monday, some residents of Minna, the capital city of Niger state, protested against the country's growing cost of living by closing major roads in the city. Hours later, a demonstration was similarly held in Kano.
Subsequently, a presidential committee convened at the presidential villa on Tuesday to discuss emergency food intervention.
Speaking about the situation, Idris stated that the government is really worried about what Nigerians are going through. He said, “Of course, this meeting is not by itself exhaustive. It is going to continue tomorrow and the day after.
“Now, some of these will involve unlocking the food that is available in most of the storage facilities around the country. You know that the federal ministry of agriculture has some food reserves. That is going to be made available to Nigerians.
“The government is also talking to major millers and major commodity traders, to also see what is available in their stores, to open it up, so that government will provide some intervention and make this food available to Nigerians".
According to Idris, the government has seen that there is enough food in the nation, which is being hoarded because of the naira's decline in value.
“The government will not fold its arms and see the way Nigerians are suffering in terms of the availability of these food items.
“So I want to plead with you to understand with the government. By the time these meetings are concluded, we’ll be able to issue a definite statement on what the position of government is in this regard.
“But all I can say is that discussions are ongoing, and very soon a solution is in sight for Nigerians.”
