Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume has commended the Federal Government’s declaration of national emergency on Food Security.
Tinubu, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, made the declaration on Monday while opening the 6th African Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage in Abuja.
Tinubu who urged expanded irrigation infrastructure and participatory water resource management nationwide, noted that the country had more than 3.1 million hectares of irrigable land located around key river basins such as the Niger and Benue.
Recall that Tinubu had in July 2024 made a similar pronouncement after a meeting with agriculture stakeholders when he directed immediate release of fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to ease the pains of the petrol subsidy removal.
Ndume in a statement on Tuesday declared that “giving the needed impetus to food production would go a long way in bringing down the prices of farm produce in the market.
He also advocated for creation of a Department of Government Efficiency to be under the direct supervision of the Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The lawmaker said such a new Department would ensure “that Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) comply with budget implementations to the letter and promote positive government policies.”
Ndume also called on State Governors to emulate the Governor of Borno State Professor Babagana Umara Zulum who has since declared state of emergency on food security in Borno State by providing thousands of Tractors, Irrigation equipments and fertilizer to farmers at subsidised prices in Borno State to boost food production.
Aside from the emergency on food security, Senator Ndume appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make a similar pronouncement on the economy and Security to drive growth.
He said: “The Federal Government must pay attention to the rate of inflation and bring it down. It must not also ensure the stability of the Naira against the Greenback (Dollar) since we are an import-dependent country.
“In this case, the Tinubu administration must exploit the opportunities in the BRICS ( four emerging economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) group, since Nigeria is now a member. We can trade with the Chinese Yuan, rather than this concentration and undue relevance given to the Dollar.”