Residents, especially the poor, have been groaning in the last one year, as prices of staple foods especially Garri and grains hit the all time high in the state.
As complaints grew, the state government, according to the Commissioner for Agriculture, Dr. Uduak Charles Udo-Inyang, was forced to launch investigation, which revealed that “the cabal, working in conjunction with the market unions” were responsible for the artificial scarcity and inflation in the business”.
“We are trying to break into the cabal to understand their politics”, Essien disclosed, and assured the residents that government would soon intervene with a view to bringing succour to comsumers.
Consequently, the state government eventually busted the garri cartel and crashed the market price of the commodity, which hitherto hit the all time high of one cup for N100.
However, investigation at the weekend revealed that three cups of Garri now go for N100 at some designated government outlets at the Idongest Nkanga State Civil Service Secretariat, the popular Itam and Akpan Adem markets, on the outskirt of Uyo, the state capital.
The Special Assistant to Governor Udom Emmanuel on Trade matters, Mr Idorenyin Rapheal, in an interview at the weekend revealed, that 300,000 bags had been procured by government for sale at affordable prices – “to break the clique of shylock hoarders of the commodity”.
He said, “The gesture is to curtail the shylock influence of the market unions, which has caused the prices of Garri to go up as it is being sold at two cups for N100 as against three cups for N100 in other states.”
Raphael blamed the high cost of the products in the state to the imposition of N250 fine on traders by market unions.
He described such levies as illegal and warned that “any union member caught in the habit of obstructing sales of food stuff in any market in the state would be sanctioned by government and made to pay a fine not exceeding N500.000”
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