Reps Urge FG To Address Soaring Food Prices

The House of Representatives on Wednesday called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency develop a Robust Policy Response to the current inflation of Food Prices in the country.

The decision was part of the prayers adopted by the lawmakers in a motion by a member from Katsina State, Hon. Sani Lawal during plenary

Lawal explained that the country was currently plagued by an unprecedented increase in food prices due to a combination of issues such as insecurity, low level of food production and the high prices of Premium Motor Spirit PMS.

He said data released by the National Bureau of Statistics indicates that the rate of Food inflation in Nigeria as of December 2023, was 33.93 per cent which is 10.18 per cent higher compared to what was obtained in 2022.

Presenting the motion, the lawmakers expressed concern that a similar report by the National Social Safety-Nets Coordinating Office (NASSOO) confirms that there are over 15 million poor and vulnerable households in Nigeria and over 62 million individual households affected by the current food inflation.

The Lawmaker who confirmed the commitment of the Nigeria Government to guarantee food security to its citizens as a fundamental objective under Chapter II of the 1999 Constitution, stressed that continuous rise in food prices would potentially lead to uncontrollable and unpleasant situations such as social unrest, proliferation of contaminated food and massive food crisis.

He therefore appealed to the federal government to provide short-term measures that will support vulnerable
households, control food prices through price control bodies, marketing and commodity boards as well as increase public sector wages to improve their welfare.

Adopting the motion the House mandated its Committees on Agricultural Production and Services and Legislative Compliance to interface with relevant stakeholders especially the federal Ministry of Agriculture to ensure compliance on the House resolutions.