The National Economic Council, NEC, voiced shock Wednesday about the country’s high food and transportation costs.
As a result, it granted a N5 billion allocation to each of the federation’s 36 states for grain purchase, as well as five trucks of rice to each state as palliatives for the loss of petroleum subsidies.
The NEC also authorized the transfer of 40,000 bags of maize to states and asked the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, to supply food supplies to states bordering Niger Republic due to the country’s recent political upheaval.
These were among the conclusions of the NEC meeting, which was presided over by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa’s Council Chamber in Abuja.
Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State told State House correspondents after the meeting that the approval of N5 billion and trucks of rice and grains were part of measures to bring temporary solutions to the high cost of living caused by subsidy removal while the government worked on longer-term programs.
“NEC met today (yesterday) and expressed serious concerns as regards increasing cost of food items, increasing cost of transportation, among others, as a result of subsidy removal,” said Zulum, who revealed that states were forced to purchase 100,000 bags of rice and beans, among other commodities. Last week, the central government provided five trucks of rice to each state to mitigate the impact of subsidy termination.
“Furthermore, in order to mitigate the impact of food shortages across the country, the federal government has approved a sum of N5 billion to be distributed to each state for the procurement of 100,000 bags of rice, 40,000 bags of maize, and fertilizers.”
“This funding must be distributed according to the following formula: 52 percent of this money is granted to states as grants, while the remaining 48 percent is to be paid back to the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) in instalments over a 20-month period by Nigeria’s states and local governments.
“The Council commended the efforts of the federal government, led by President Tinubu, as well as the CBN.”
We have also applauded NEMA’s efforts in mitigating the effects of the subsidy reduction.
“The Council has taken bold decisions to ensure the timely release of grains and other items in order to mitigate the effects of subsidy removal on the less privileged in society.”