President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate release of more than 102,000 metric tons of various grain types from the National Food Reserve and the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria as a temporary response to the nation’s growing food crisis and the rising cost of commodities.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this to State House correspondents after the last leg of a series of three meetings of the Special Presidential Committee on Emergency Food Intervention at the Aso Rock Villa.
Idris said the first one is that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has been directed to release about 42,000 metric tons of maize, millet, garri, and other commodities in their strategic reserve so that the items will be made available to Nigerians; 42,000 metric tons immediately.
The minister revealed that the administration will resort to importing to augment any shortages observed after the release of the food items. The minister who declined to mention specifics affirmed the Federal Government’s readiness to take punitive measures against those he called food hoarders.