The Senate has called on the federal government to urgently address the escalating hunger crisis caused by food insecurity, which it has described as an emergency.
During Tuesday’s session, the Senate urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to implement measures to combat the current food insecurity.
The Senate emphasized that patience and tolerance are elastic but not eternal, warning that the public’s patience is wearing thin.
Looming Crisis and Rising Prices
The Senate cautioned against a potential crisis, stressing the urgent need for the executive arm of the government to take every possible action.
It noted that the rising prices of goods and household consumables over the past few months have led to high inflation rates, weakened purchasing power, and deteriorating living conditions for the vast majority of Nigerians.
Emergency Measures
As a temporary solution, the federal government has deployed 60 trucks of fertilizers to each of the 36 states of the Federation. Two trucks are allocated per senator and one truck for each member of the House of Representatives.
The Senate’s resolutions followed a motion titled, “Urgent Need to Address Food Insecurity and Market Exploitation of Consumables In Nigeria,” sponsored by Senator Sunday Karimi (APC, Kogi West) and co-sponsored by Senate Whip, Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South).
High Inflation and Market Exploitation
In his presentation, Senator Karimi highlighted the sharp rise in prices of goods and household consumables, leading to high inflation and worsening living conditions.
“The latest data by Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics shows that food inflation in the country skyrocketed to 40.66 per cent on a year-on-year basis, a significant increase from the 24.82 per cent recorded in May 2023,” Karimi stated.
He added that the current market prices of food items such as beans, maize, rice paddy, yam, tomatoes, and onions have increased by over 100% to 300% since the removal of the petroleum subsidy, without any attributable reason.
Contributing Factors and Market Dynamics
Karimi acknowledged that factors such as insecurity in food-producing regions, bad roads, increased transportation costs due to fuel subsidy removal, and the depreciation of the Naira have contributed to the rise in food prices.
However, he pointed out that the percentage increase in transportation costs is significantly less than the overall increase in food prices, suggesting that market exploitation is also at play.
He expressed concern that merchants, traders, and retailers are making supernormal profits by attributing price hikes to these factors, thereby heaping all the blame on the federal government.
Calls for Pragmatic Solutions
Senator Karimi emphasized the need for pragmatic solutions to address food insecurity, curb herder-farmer crises, kidnapping for ransom, and terrorism. He also called for the development of a viable National Commodity Board to regulate grain prices and eliminate artificial contributions to food inflation.
Supporting Voices
Senator Ali Ndume lamented that Nigeria is now listed as one of the countries battling food insecurity. “In their many publications, they say Nigeria is likely to experience the highest session of food insecurity globally,” Ndume said.
Former Senate President Ahmad Lawan warned that patience and tolerance are not eternally elastic and criticized the federal government for having empty food reserves.
“We wouldn’t like the kind of thing that we see in our streets and it is time that we take every possible action,” Lawan stated.
Senate President’s Remarks
Senate President Godswill Akpabio noted that the food insecurity crisis is a consequence of the broader insecurity that has ravaged the country. He stressed the importance of addressing the root causes of the crisis to ensure food security for all Nigerians.
