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Despite food crisis, Nigerian govt rejects imports, backs clampdown on hoarders

Published

3 months ago

February 16, 2024

Nigerian government has rejected the option of the importation of food as part of strategies to address the high cost of foodstuffs and the economic hardship troubling the country.

This was one of the decisions made during President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, and state governors’ emergency meeting on Thursday at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja.

The government also formed a committee made up of the Inspector General of Police, the Director-General of the Department of State Services, and the National Security Adviser as part of an effort to crack down on traders hoarding grains.

Meanwhile, the All Farmers Association of Nigeria and organised private sector have backed the decision to forgo importing food as a means of addressing the severe food crisis the country is currently experiencing.

After the discussion, Mohammed Idris, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, told State House Correspondents that bringing in food would just make the already fragile economy worse.

Idris announced earlier on February 8 that the administration would import necessary supplies to supplement shortages following the release of 102,000 metric tonnes of food items nationally, after a meeting of the Special Presidential Committee on Emergency Food Intervention at the Presidential Villa.

“Now, the third item is that the government is also looking at the possibility, if it becomes necessary, as an interim measure in the short run also to import some of these commodities,” he had said.

Nigeria is currently battling a cost of living crisis due to the country’s currency (Naira) falling to record lows and the skyrocketing of food prices. Its inflation rate surged further in January to hit 29.90% annually, with food inflation rising to 35.41 percent during that time from 33.93 percent in December 2023.

Related Topics:Featured Food crises inflation Nigeria

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Nigeria’s inflation hits 28-year high of 33.69% in April

Published

2 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s consumer inflation reached a 28-year high of 33.69% in April, up from 33.20% in March, according to statistics agency figures released on Wednesday.

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has slashed petrol and energy subsidies and devalued the local naira currency twice.

To manage pricing pressures, the central bank has hiked interest rates twice this year, including the highest hike in almost 17 years. The central bank governor has stated that rates will remain high for as long as necessary to reduce inflation. The bank will host another rate-setting meeting next week.

When compared to the previous year, the inflation rate in April 2024 was 11.47 percentage points more than in April 2023, when it stood at 22.22 percent. This implies that the headline inflation rate has increased dramatically during the last year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, food and nonalcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to inflation in April. Food inflation, which accounts for most of the inflation basket, rose to 40.53% yearly from 40.01% in March.

Price pressures have left millions of Nigerians facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in decades, as they fight to satisfy their most basic necessities.

Tinubu has offered a 35% salary increase for state personnel to alleviate pressure on government workers. To assist disadvantaged households, his government has resumed a direct cash transfer program and provided at least 42,000 tons of grains such as corn and millet.

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Uganda discusses power line to South Sudan with China’s Sinohydro

Published

23 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to the president’s office, Uganda is in negotiations with Sinohydro Corporation Limited of China to build a $180 million power transmission line that would enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, which is severely short on energy.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni received a group led by Vice President of Sinohydro Corporation Yang Yi Xin on Monday as part of the negotiations, according to a late-morning statement from Museveni’s office.

The project, according to the statement, will entail building a new substation and expanding two existing ones in addition to building a 138-kilometre high-voltage transmission line to provide power to South Sudan.

“We are very much willing to help develop this project with the required finance if needed,” Xin was quoted as telling the president.

The statement stated that Museveni endorsed Sinohydro’s proposal to carry out the project. Uganda and South Sudan inked a power sales deal in June of last year, enabling Uganda to sell electricity to South Sudan.

To enable Uganda to export electricity to South Sudan, the two nations inked a power sales deal in June of last year. The Chinese firm is completing a $1.5 billion, 600-megawatt hydropower project on the River Nile in Northern Uganda that is meant to be the source for electricity exports to South Sudan.