The Kano State Public Complaint and Anticorruption Commission,(PCACC) disturbed by skyrocketing food prices and hoarding of essential items, has threatened to lock down the warehouses or stores, hoarding the foodstuff or essential items, seize the property and take the matter to court.
This was just as the agency stated ” The Kano State government is worried over the situation. The situation is unbearable, people are hungry. A hungry man is an angry man.”
Reading the riot act on Thursday, the chairman of the PCACC, Bar. Muhuyi Rimingado made this known while addressing newsmen, saying the commission has ignited intelligence mechanism on the matter and will clamp down on the warehouses and stores before the month of Ramadan.
Rimingado hinted ” And if we find essential commodities that were hoarded, we have three options.
He disclosed that ” One of the options is to lock down the store, seize the property and take the matter to court.
And the court in its wisdom will tell us what to do with the property. And that is a setback to the owner because we have confiscated the property and it can get spoilt,” Bar. Rimingado said.
According to him, “I believe there is a problem of inflation which is one of the genesis of hardship but hoarding too also contributed. And we will not allow it.”
He then added, ” To even hoard and take advantage of the people is undue influence and that is part of corruption. We are overwhelmed, this is the most essential part of our job”.
We are appealing to the traders that if they know they hoard the foodstuff to take advantage of the situation, they should bring it out to the market because we will not allow it.
The PCACC chairman then called on the people to assist the commission with useful information that would lead to identifying the stores.
He further disclosed that “with the advent of Ramadan, we are not going to fold our arms as we are going to swing into action. We are not going to watch people take advantage of the situation by engaging in hoarding and compounding the situation.
“We are asking people with useful information to come forward with them to help the commission identify warehouses or stores where hoarding is taking place.”
The commission will be glad with such genuine information and will protect the identity of such a person, he said
He stated that it is ungodly for human beings to board food stuff, simply to get more profits at the detriment of innocent people, who were struggling to feed themselves.
Therefore any owner of warehouses or stores engaged in hoarding food stuff which continues to cause untold hardship to the downtrodden masses, should rethink this satanic act.
and then