As governments at all levels intensify efforts to halt the current food crisis, Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda has signed into law an executive order to check food scarcity and prohibit hoarding of food and other essential commodities in the state.
His Nasarawa State counterpart, Abdullahi Sule, said in Lafia yesterday that his recent interaction with marketers on food hoarding had started yielding results while the Delta State Traditional Rulers Council warned that indiscriminate bush burning in the state is harmful to food production.
Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asked the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government to get going or quit.
The immediate past Labour Minister, Senator Simon Lalong, said Nigerians should give the policies of President Bola Tinubu a chance to mature for them to yield the desired results.
The Katsina executive order which takes immediate effect, according to Information Commissioner Bala Zango, is a clear message from the government that it will not tolerate practices that threaten the well-being of the people.
The executive order empowers the government to break, with the aid of a court warrant, into any place suspected of being used for food hoarding and the commodity found therein sold to the public.
Proceeds of such sale shall be subject to determination in accordance with the prevailing laws on proceeds of crime.
A task force has been established to enforce the provisions of the order.
Its functions include identifying food commodity hoarders in the state and interacting with stakeholders on food prices in the state.
Prior to the signing of the executive order, governor Radda had convened an emergency meeting of the expanded security council to deliberate on the rising prices of food items.
Speaking at the fundraiser for the new Nasarawa central mosque complex in Nasarawa Local Government Area, Governor Sule said following his recent appeal to marketers in the state to shun hoarding of food, they have offered to sell over 21,000 bags of rice to the government.
Part of the rice, he said, would be distributed free of charge to the people and rest sold at a discount.
He said the government was also willing to buy millet and maize to be shared to people.
He pleaded for patience by the people.
He said: ”We are aware of the prevailing challenges across the country. There is hunger occasioned by the high cost of food items as well as economic hardship.
“Just like President Tinubu appealed to Nigerians to be patient, I’m also adding my voice by appealing to Nigerians to remain patient. Government is working hard to address these challenges”.
Also speaking, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Saad Abubakar III, asked Muslims to continue to pray for leaders across the country for them to successfully discharge their responsibilities.
The Sultan said it is better if the people pray for their leaders, especially at a time like this.
His words: “If you pray for a leader and he is able to deliver good leadership, the citizens would benefit.
“But if you leave the leaders alone and they are not able to deliver, it is the citizens that would suffer.
“It’s therefore imperative that we continue to pray for our leaders for them to be able to discharge the responsibilities vested upon them by Allah”.
He urged Muslims to use the coming Ramadan to redouble their prayers for the leaders and the country.
Also, the Niger Government appealed to women in the state to be calm and patient as it is doing everything possible to alleviate the current hardship and rising cost of living.
The Special Adviser to Gov. Umaru Bago on Social Investment Programme, Hajiya Hauwa Bako made the appeal at a consolidated stakeholders’ engagement with the Kpagungu community in Minna.
She said that the state government was concerned about the plight of citizens amidst the high cost of commodities and would do everything possible to support them with a view to improving their standard of living.
Responding, Aisha Jibrin and Fatima Aliyu, who led the protest on 5 February over the current food crisis, said the action was not intended to cause crisis but to express their plight so that the government could come to their rescue.
Some traders at the Kano essential commodities market, popularly known as Singer market, say they resolved to reduce the prices of food commodities.
“The spaghetti that we sold at N11,500 or N11,700 in the market is now sold for N12,800 in companies. Sugar in the company is sold for N72,000 but we sold it for N70,000. Rice is sold at N65,700 now but we sold it at 57,000 to 60,000”, one of the market leaders said.
Chairman of the marketers, Ibrahim Danyaro, told journalists about the price reduction shortly after a meeting with the Chairman of Kano State Public Compliant and Anti-Corruption Commission (PCACC), Barrister Muhuyi Magaji Rimin-Gado.
Danyaro said they currently sell food commodities at prices less than company prices. He also vowed to weed out those hoarding food stuff in Kano markets.
The decision by the traders followed the public outcry over the soaring prices of essential commodities and the high cost of living in the country.
The market leader also vowed to assist the commission in fishing out bad eggs among those who are hoarding goods and arbitrarily increasing their prices.
Another leader of the traders, Hamisu Rabi’u assured the residents of maintaining the old prices of the stocks at hand against the high prices being experienced at various markets across the state.
The Delta State Traditional Rulers Council condemned indiscriminate bush burning, describing it as a threat to food production.
Rising from a meeting in Asaba, the first Vice Chairman of the Council and Pere of Akugbene Mien, S. P Luke Kalanama V111, decried the act and called for immediate action to stop the unwholesome trend which, if not checked might thwart the effort of government at achieving food security in the state.
Indiscriminate bush burning, according to them, has not only caused the devastation of the ecosystem but also destroyed economic trees and food crops and in some cases razed residential buildings.
The monarchs appealed to the state government to, as a matter of urgency, carry out an aggressive enlightenment and sensitization program on the dangers inherent in bush burning.
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has reopened the Abuja head office of Sahad Supermarket which was sealed for alleged customers extortion and lack of transparency in price fixing.
The Acting Executive Vice Chairman of FCCPC, Dr Adamu Abdullahi, said in a statement in Abuja yesterday that the reopening followed a mutual understanding and commitment from the store to implement transparent pricing practices.
He said the Commission was aware that similar practices might be happening at other Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) outlets nationwide.
Abdullahi advised supermarkets or outlets engaging in customers’ extortion to desist from such practices immediately to avoid consequences.
”Businesses are expected to display transparent pricing information to empower consumers to make informed purchasing decisions, especially during challenging economic times”, he said.
He added: ”The FCCPC remains committed to combating all forms of exploitative or misleading practices that undermine consumer rights.
”The FCCPA protects consumer rights and prohibits deceptive business practices.
”Section 115 outlines potential penalties for violations, including fines for organisations and imprisonment for directors.
”The FCCPC encourages all businesses to adhere to fair and transparent pricing practices to ensure consumer protection and a healthy market environment”, the acting executive vice chairman said.
The commission had on Friday sealed the supermarket for customers’ extortion and lack of transparency in prices.
Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday offered to collaborate with President Tinubu in finding a lasting solution to “a very difficult situation created or exacerbated by the APC since 2015”.
The governors said the APC-led federal government should quit the stage if it cannot mobilize Nigerians as well as all organs and tiers of government for sustainable solutions to the various problems plaguing the nation.
The Governors, under the aegis of the PDP Governors’ Forum, PDP-GF, specifically noted that the hardship and suffering being faced by Nigerians have no tribal, religious, or party coloration, stressing that “a hungry man is an angry man”.
In a statement by its Director-General, Hon CID Maduabum in Abuja during the weekend, the PDF-GF said, “The buck ultimately stops at the President’s table as the Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria, the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation, the Chief Salesman, and leader of Nigeria”.
They frowned at the Minister of Information, APC Governors’ Forum, and other officials of the APC-led Federal Government who criticized the PDP-GF for their suggestions, advice, and patriotic intervention on the way forward for the country in a communique issued at the end of their recent meeting in Abuja.
“The APC sought power to solve the problems of Nigeria; not to compound them or shift blame, or grandstand or use propaganda to obfuscate or confuse issues”, the PDP-GF said.
“PDP-governed States are comparatively the best in Nigeria in terms of developmental policies, programmes, and projects that benefit their states positively, regular payment of salaries, pensions, gratuities, and minimum wage to their workforce”.
The PDP governors urged for urgent steps to avoid a situation similar to Venezuela in Nigeria and commended the President for convening a special meeting on 15th February 2024 to discuss these issues between the Federal and State Governments.
The PDP Governors’ Forum advice and suggestions come as part of a series of discussions held by the PDP Governors during their meeting on 12th February 2024, under the leadership of Sen. Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, Governor of Bauchi State during which they advised the Federal Government to, among others, mobilize state and local governments towards the creation of state police that avoids abuse and overreach by any tier of government.
Also, Immediate past Minister of Labour, Senator Simon Lalong yesterday asked Nigerians to give the policies of President Bola Tinubu a chance to mature and yield the desired results.
Lalong told former speakers of Houses of Assembly meeting in the Adamawa State capital, Yola, that Nigeria needs their experiences to wade through the prevailing crisis.
Lalong spoke during the opening of a meeting of the Conference of Former Speakers of State Houses of Assembly of Nigeria of which he is the chairman.
“Let all of us and all Nigerians support our president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who has continued to pursue the path of renewing the hope of the nation”, Lalong said.
Lalong, who currently represents Plateau North zone in the Senate, added, “No doubt some of the programmes, like the removal of petrol subsidy, have impacted on the lives of the people. However, we need to give these policies some time to mature so that we can benefit from the gains they bring”.
In his address, the host governor of the ex-speakers’ meeting, Ahmadu Fintiri, said the most important takeaway from the role of speaker is a cutting-edge capacity for leadership after their experiences as speakers.
Fintiri, who was himself a former speaker in Adamawa State, added: “No one passes through this hatchery and comes out with an empty brain. We must appreciate this privilege and continue to avail our leadership experiences and skills to Nigeria”.
According to Fintiri, “If there is any time that Nigeria needs ex-speakers’ leadership acumen, experiences and unity of purpose, to mitigate its towering challenges of survival, “the hour is now”.
