The hike in the prices of food commodities and the scarcity in its supply in Nigeria, have been attributed to insecurity, fuel subsidy removal, border closure among others
This is coming on the heels of a nationwide protest by young people against perceived bad governance, lack of people-driven policies, spiralling inflation and flamboyance of leaders amidst growing poverty in the land.
The former South East chairman of Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Hon Emeka Okafor, during an interview in Umuahia, the Abia State Capital said the continuous closure of the border, the activities of bandits, and the removal of fuel subsidy are contributing majorly to food shortages, untold hardship, which are currently the problem of Nigerians.
Hon Emeka Okafor, disclosed that farmers especially those in the Northern part of Nigeria, where food are produced in large quantities, no longer go to their farms,for the fear of being kidnapped or killed, thereby causing a high demand and hike in the prices of the ones available.
He said President Bola Tinubu should act swiftly by reopening the border, so as to complement the amount of food produced in Nigeria.
According to him, “Our borders ought not to be closed at this time of shortage in food supply . What we produce is not enough for Nigerians. We lack the capacity to produce food that is sufficient for Nigerians”.
He added that the Federal government should as well, reverse the price of fuel, which he said had contributed greatly to the economic hardship currently facing the people.
The ex IPAC chairman, however advised the presidency to come up with policies that would help scale up the economy and also,cushion the effect of the current situation, appealing to the President to display political will power which he is known for and stop receiving advice from people who do not have a clue about governance.
Meanwhile, he called on the Leadership of the Nigerian Labour Congress(NLC), to stand up for the right of workers and demand for the dividend of democracy, stating that the struggle for the New Wage, will make no meaningful impact in the economy, if the root cause of the problem is not addressed. “If what causes the prices of goods to rise, is not addressed,even if the minimum wage is increased to #200,000, you still cannot do anything with it”.
Rating the performances of the President and the Governor of Abia State, Dr Alex Otti, in the past one year, Hon Okafor said the administrations of the duo have not recorded much, advocating for the right policy to be made, so that the people could reap the impact.
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In Abia, Hon Emeka Okafor lauded the State Governor for reintroducing the School’s Sporting Competition which went dormant, outlining its positive impact.
Hon Emeka Okafor further called on the South East Governors to come together and demand the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu,stating that, Nnamdi Kanu is a son of Ndigbo and must not be left in detention.
He said the Governors of the South East should stop sitting on the fence over the matter, but should take the necessary steps to ensure he is released from detention.
