On Thursday, February 8, the Governor of Niger State, Mohammed Umar Bago, placed a temporary ban of sales of Food and Farm product to other states in Nigeria.
The order was as a result of the protest that occurred in Minna, the Capital of Niger state. The protest was as a result of Hardship in the state and rise in prices of Goods.
Bago said the protest was caused by a piece of wrong information claiming that the government was planning to hoard some food palliatives in the state despite the severe hunger people were facing.
“On your way from Lagos to Abuja, a lot of trucks going to the north will pass through either Minna or Lambata, through Sarki Pawa to cut short the high cost of fuel. These people had gone to inform the masses of food coming in for keeps by the government. So they intimated these masses that there was food, truckloads of foods coming to Minna. And it is going to go straight to some stores for sharing to you and that agitated the power. Bago added.
“Trucks who come to park or buy foodstuff from our villagers in bulk should be halted for now. We have stopped mass purchase from our local markets, in all our local government from now until further notice. Anybody found doing that, we have given security agencies to go ahead to confiscate those trucks and share the foods to the people.”
It was reported on Tuesday by NewsVEO how the protesters blocked major road as they lamented that there was no government efforts to arrest the situation of the rising cost of Goods and cost of living.
The protesters were heard chanting protest songs, while security agents including policemen looked on.
Meanwhile, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to release about 42,000 metric tonnes of grain, including maize, millet and garri.
Similarly, the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria also committed to immediately releasing over 60,000 metric tonnes of rice to the public.
The minister of information and national orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this after the meeting of the presidential committee on emergency food intervention on Thursday in Abuja.