It is unfortunate that prices of food items and other essential commodities have been increasing daily, hence the need for stakeholders to offer useful advice on the problem.
By Saidu Idris
365Daily – Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, has accused farmers of contributing to food inflation in Nigeria by taking out their produce to neighboring countries to sell in order to make more money.
He said this on Friday, February 9, 2024, at an expanded security council meeting in the state with heads of security agencies, Emirs of Katsina and Daura, relevant government officials, religious leaders, traders associations, and local government chairmen.
“It is unfortunate that prices of food items and other essential commodities have been increasing daily, hence the need for stakeholders to offer useful advice on the problem.
”I was told that foodstuffs are being transported from our markets to neighbouring countries like Niger, then to Mali and Burkina Faso, because our Naira has been depreciating while their currencies are gaining value.
“Such people are taking that opportunity at the detriment of the poor. That is a great problem which we cannot fold our arms and allow it to continue,” he said, while calling for solutions to the current economic hardship and insecurity in the state to prevent protests like the ones recently witnessed in Kano and Niger States.
Radda also said the meeting would appraise the security challenges in the state. He urged the citizens to unite and protect themselves from attacks by bandits, saying he has been targeted by the outlaws because of the pressure his government and security forces are putting 0n them.
“Security report revealed that I’m now one of their targets in the state because of the measures we are taking to deal with the situation.
“We are calling on people to organise themselves to protect their communities from attacks by criminals,” he added.