President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday committed his administration to checking the high prices of foodstuffs, which have become a major driver of inflation in the country.
The president, at a virtual meeting of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) assured the council of his administration’s readiness to monitor the persistent general rise in the prices of food commodities in 2021 with a view to bringing them down.
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He made the commitment on the same day Kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, gave a high rating to the quality of rice being produced in the country, saying that Nigeria is now competitive in the production of the commodity.
A statement by the presidential spokesman, Mallam Garba Shehu, also quoted the president as reiterating his directive to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to grant any foreign exchange for the importation of food items. This is the third time the president would issue the directive; first in August 2919 and again in September.
Recent data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) had shown that Nigeria’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), which measures inflation, increased by 14.89 per cent (year-on-year) in November compared to 14.23 per cent in the preceding month.
The report showed that the composite food index, which accounts for more than half of the country’s inflation basket, had risen sharply by 18.30 per cent in the review period compared to 17.38 per cent in October.
The NBS had said the rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat, fish, fruits, vegetables and oils and fats. Food inflation has been in double digits for more than three years.
Buhari also spoke on what he described as the strides made in agricultural production following the programme of diversification by his administration to check Nigeria’s over-reliance on oil revenue.
He wondered what would have been the state of the country in view of the devastating economic crisis caused by COVID-19 if the country didn’t embrace agriculture in the first place.
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