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President Buhari Finally Explains Why Nigerian Food Prices Are Increasing

Touchaheart blog reports that despite his administration’s investments in agriculture, President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed why food prices in the country are skyrocketing.

President Buhari Finally Explains Why Nigerian Food Prices Are Increasing
Food price increases

According to The News, President Buhari addressed Nigerians in his Eid-el-Kabir greeting, which was released in a statement by his senior special assistant on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, on Monday, July 19, in Abuja.

The president also said that his administration is working hard to solve food inflation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the impact of floods on agricultural activity in the country.

Floods, according to the president, have wreaked havoc on agricultural farmlands, harmeding “our attempts to expand local production in line with our strategy of dramatically reducing food importation.

“No government in our recent history has invested as heavily as we are doing to promote local production of about 20 other commodities, through the provision of loans and several other forms of support to our farmers.”

Apart from the damage caused by floods to rice crops, Buhari stated that middlemen had taken advantage of the local rice industry to exploit other Nigerians. This, he claims, has harmed the government’s efforts to boost local food production at reasonable costs.President Buhari Finally Explains Why Nigerian Food Prices Are Increasing

“As an elected president who enjoys the goodwill of the ordinary people that gave us their mandate, let me assure you that we are continuing with measures to bring relief to Nigerians, including making fertiliser available at affordable prices to our farmers.”

The president also stated that the country’s current instability has had serious and negative consequences for agriculture, as farmers are unable to reach their farms due to bandits and terrorists. He did, however, reiterate his administration’s commitment to building a just, peaceful, and wealthy society where people’s lives and property are safe.

The president remarked that the “COVID-19 pandemic has taken a terrible toll on the economies of all countries, including Nigeria,” when commenting on the country’s current issues. Buhari reassured Nigerians that his government was working to address the country’s security issues.