The Sokoto State House of Assembly has passed a resolution urging the state government to ban the exportation of food items to neighbouring countries to curb food inflation.
This followed the adoption of a motion on a matter of urgent public importance by Shamsu Aliyu (APC-Wurno) at Wednesday’s plenary in Sokoto.
Presenting the motion, Aliyu said the matter had to do with the economic hardship being faced by the people due to high inflation.
“This has significantly impacted the livelihood of individuals and families across our state and Nigeria at large”, he said.
The lawmaker also emphasised that the right measures needed to be taken by the government considering the recent report by the World Bank on food security.
He highlighted that the report predicted that seven states in the country might face food insecurity starting from May, adding that Sokoto was among the states.
Aliyu said that the prediction was of great concern to residents of the state and expressed worry over the activities of businessmen who hoard food items and increase their prices at the detriment of the people.
“The government needs to set up a task force committee on food prices and collaborate with relevant stakeholders to ensure enforcement to take necessary measures”, he said.
Akhaji Bashar Isah (PDP-Tambuwal East) emphasised the need for the government to place a great premium on the welfare of the people.
The lawmaker described the beautification project of the state government in the metropolis as relevant considering the economic hardship being faced by the people.
“As a government, we need to always prioritise our people’s demands first and not to concentrate on areas that are of less priority in order to ease the numerous challenges we find ourselves today”, he said.
The Speaker, Alhaji Tukur Bala, thereafter put the motion into a voice vote and was unanimously adopted by the lawmakers.
