President Bola Tinubu has declared an immediate State of Emergency on food security as prices of food items continue to increase.
Presidential spokesman, Dele Alake, made this known while briefing State House correspondent on Thursday.
This, according to him, is in line with this administration’s position on ensuring that the most vulnerable are supported.
The President therefore approved that all matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, be included within the purview of the National Security Council.
“In the immediate term, we intend to deploy some savings from the fuel subsidy removal into the Agricultural sector focusing on revamping the agricultural sector”, the statement read.
“We will immediately release fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.
“There must be an urgent synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all-year round.
“We will engage our security architecture to protect the farms and the farmers so that farmers can return to the farmlands without fear of attacks.
“The Central Bank will continue to play a major role in funding the agricultural value chain.”
