Amidst the rising cost of living and food inflation, the traditional ruler of Otumara community, High Chief Kehinde Kalejaiye, has appealed to President Bola Tinubu to alleviate the hardships of Nigerians and control the prices of food commodities.
Kalejaiye appealed the court’s order to the Federal Government to set the price of goods and petroleum products within seven days, with effect from Wednesday, January 7.
Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa of the Federal High Court in Lagos issued the order following an originating motion filed and argued by the applicant, human rights lawyer, and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana.
In suit no FHC/L/CS/869/2023, Falana requested an order, pursuant to Section 4 of the Price Control Act, directing the Federal Government to fix the prices of bicycles and spare parts; flour; matches; milk; motorcycles and spare parts; motor vehicles and spare parts; salt; sugar; and petroleum products, including diesel, petrol, motor spirit, and kerosene, within seven days after the delivery of the court’s judgment.
Reacting to the order, Kalejaiye affirmed that Nigerians are insecure and hungry, also noting that the country’s challenges are self-inflicted.
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He said, “There is tension in the land concerning food inflation and insecurity. The challenges facing us as a country are self-inflicted. They are caused by politicians and middlemen who are culpable for the corruption, current economic hardship, and insecurity Nigerians are enduring.
In December 2023, President Bola Tinubu released N2 billion each to Federal lawmakers to purchase palliative grains for their constituents. This was intended to address food shortages, but how many of these lawmakers distributed these grains to their people?
Instead, they diverted the money, leaving the people who voted them into office hungry. Many of our politicians are selfish, greedy, and only concerned with their own interests. They are frustrating the Federal Government’s efforts to address the challenges of food insecurity with their corrupt and selfish nature.
Just two days ago, the president directed the special presidential committee on emergency food intervention to release grains from the national food reserve to Nigerians.
This is aimed at reducing food prices in the market. But as noble as this intervention is, it has been defeated before it is even implemented. The situation we are facing in the country is not unique to us, but what exacerbates it is the attitude of our elected politicians towards solving it.
It is obvious that this emergency food intervention will not have any meaningful impact because the grains, as usual, will be diverted by those who are supposed to implement it.
They will not reach the target audience, who in this case are the poorest of the poor. If President Tinubu is serious about ending food insecurity, he must devise a means to ensure that the grains reach the deserving people and not fall into the hands of corrupt politicians and civil servants.”
Kalejaiye also blamed the middlemen for hoarding these commodities and taking undue advantage of the free fall of the Naira to increase prices of food items.
He added, “Our food challenges are not solely about scarcity; there is food sufficiency in the country, but the problem is that middlemen are hoarding them. For instance, a few days ago, about 10 trailer loads of rice were deposited at a warehouse in Ilupeju, Lagos. A similar situation exists across major markets and warehouses in the state.
These traders hoard these commodities to create artificial scarcity, which ultimately leads to higher prices and, by implication, hunger in the land.
The government must rise to the occasion and stop blaming the opposition for the scarcity. They need to develop mechanisms to control the prices of food items, as traders adjust prices of commodities at will at every opportunity.”