Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Tuesday in has said that the government is working hard to force down the cost of key staple foods by releasing grains from the strategic reserve and distributing same to the people at intervals.
In a statement signed by the chief press secretary to the governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, the governor said this while briefing different segments of the state on developments in the country, including efforts of the government to ease things for the people.
According to the governor, different federal government committees are working round the clock to plug the spiraling fall in the value of the naira and its impacts on consumer goods, while different measures are taken to ease the effects on the public.
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“The devaluation of the naira meant that merchants from neighbouring countries are mopping up grains from Nigeria because it is far cheaper to buy from the country and then resell at higher prices in their own countries, especially in the West African subregion”, the governor said.
Acknowledging the spike in inflation, the Governor urged the people to be patient and that the government’s investments in gas-powered vehicles will soon manifest when the vehicles are eventually distributed in the coming months, including (first) to the University of Ilorin campus and later to the other campuses.
He also commended the Kwara State University for its initiative on gas-powered vehicles, which he said the government will continue to encourage.
The governor promised that the state government will soon deploy more vehicles to different parts of the state to support people’s movement, especially students who come from different homes, while grains will soon be distributed to the people as a form of support.
“You will observe that due to the removal of fuel subsidy and the step taken on foreign exchange by the federal government, there is inflation in the country. The government is working hard to address the resultant challenges,” he said at each of the meetings with the stakeholders.
“Our major problem is foreign exchange. We are getting US dollars from sales of crude oil, whereas we have low sales at the moment. We used to experience pipeline vandalism. But, since the assumption of Tinubu’s government, production of oil has increased. Not only that, the government realised recently that the crude oil we are, and will be, getting in the next six months or so had been sold in advance. So, they don’t get value for whatever they are selling now. But gradually, things will change, and we need your support to understand us.
“The government has started ordering gas-powered vehicles and is making serious efforts to stabilise the Naira. But more importantly now is how to address the hike of food prices. We held a meeting this afternoon. I joined them through zoom, and it is a continuation of previous meetings. The government is launching programmes to checkmate the rising food prices”, the governir assured the people.
He said the government is not taking the issue of insecurity lightly, citing the immediate arrest of abductors in Ekiti LG of the state by the combined security agencies.
