A MEETING of the Presidential Committee on Emergency Food Intervention is taking place in the State House in Abuja.
The meeting, which was convened by the Chief of staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, has in attendance the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari; Minister of State for Agriculture, Mustapha Shehuri; the Minister of Budget and Planning, Atiku Bagudu; the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Yemi Cardoso among others.
Tuesday’s gathering is coming on the heels of protests in some parts of the country over the rising cost of food and living. The demonstrations had broken out in Niger and Kano states, prompting calls for urgent action to arrest the spiraling prices of essential food items.
President Bola Tinubu had last year declared a State of Emergency on food insecurity to tackle the increase in food prices.
Current Minister of Solid Minerals Dele Alake had on behalf of the President, said Tinubu is “not unmindful of the rising cost of food and how it affects the citizens.”
Food prices have been on the rise across Nigeria in recent years. The situation deteriorated due to the impact of government policies such as the removal of subsidy on petrol, among others.
Nigeria’s annual inflation rate had also been on a steady rise according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
