Food Scarcity in Nigeria: Details Of Meeting Between Tinubu’s CoS, Gbajabiamila, Ribadu, Ministers Emerge
At the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, a crucial meeting took place involving the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, National Security Adviser (NSA) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, key ministers, and the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso.
The main agenda of the meeting was to discuss the pressing issues of food security and the recent protests that have erupted in some states.
The meeting, which commenced at approximately 5:30 pm yesterday, was a strategic response to the growing concerns regarding the cost of living protests in Niger and Kano states.
Notable attendees at the gathering included the Minister of Education, Dr Tahir Mamman; Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu; Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari; and State Minister for Agriculture, Sabi Abdullahi.
This meeting took place amidst a political dispute, with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) accusing opposition parties such as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), and the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) of instigating the anti-government protests.
In response, the opposition criticized the APC for their alleged failure to address the economic hardships faced by the nation, which they believe has contributed to the demonstrations.
After a three-hour meeting, Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, addressed the State House correspondents. He conveyed President Tinubu’s profound concerns regarding the situation and disclosed the President’s instruction for the Presidential Committee to implement effective measures to alleviate the difficulties faced by the Nigerian people.
Minister Idris provided reassurance to the public, stating that the country possesses sufficient food reserves. However, he acknowledged that some individuals are taking advantage of the high food prices and the devaluation of the naira for their gain.
The Minister said: “We just rounded off a meeting. It is a special presidential committee to address the issue of food shortage or lack of enough food on the table of most Nigerians.
“This is just the beginning of that meeting. It is going to continue tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. The government is very concerned about what Nigerians are going through, especially what happened in Minna yesterday, and therefore, the government is taking some action to ensure that Nigerians have some relief in terms of the availability of food on the table.
“Of course, this meeting is not by itself exhaustive. It’s just like I said, the beginning. It is going to continue tomorrow and the day after.
“Now, some of these will involve unlocking the foods that are available in most of the storage facilities (National Food Reserve) around the country. You know that the Federal Minister of Agriculture has some food reserves. That is going to be made available to Nigerians.”
