The Federal Government has partly attributed the extortionist tendencies of security agents for high cost of food items across the country.
Specifically, the government blamed the Nigeria Police, Army and Customs at the nation’s check points and ports for extorting monies from truck drivers conveying farm produce from rural to urban areas.
Minister of Agriculture Audu Ogbeh informed the Joint Committees on Agriculture and Rural Development Thursday at the 2017 budget defence of the ministry.
Prices of goods have skyrocketed in recent times with excruciating hardship on Nigerians.
For instance, 50 kilogram of rice which sold for N11,500 in January 2016, sold for N18,500 in January 2017. Also, a 50kg of beans which sold for N27,000 in January 2016, went for N32,000 in January 2017. In the same vein, a bag of garri which was purchased for N6,000 in January 2016, went for N16,500 in January 2017.
In the same period under review, 25 litres of palm oil sold for N7,000 as against N23,000, while 5 litres of vegetable oil which was purchased for N1,200, went for N3,000.
Lamenting the situation, Ogbeh said one of the factors responsible for high cost of food prices in the country is “the daily unbearable extortions men of the Nigeria Police, their counterpart in the Army and Customs Service visited on truck drivers conveying farm produce from the hinterland to urban centres under the guise of carrying out security checks.
“These truck drivers based on raw lamentations made to the Ministry in recent time, alleged that at every check points, they are always forced to part with reasonable amount of money by any group of the security agencies, which they said, made farmers to have no option than to factor cost of the extortion into prices of the food items”.
During a budget defence session with the committee, Ogbeh decried that despite having written formally to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, Comptroller General of Customs, Hameed Ali and other heads of security agencies against this fraudulent practices, they had not abated.
This was even as farmers across the country kicked against moves by the Federal Government to effect reduction in the prices of food items.
He also cited high cost of diesel which now sells for N300 per litre as another factor responsible for the skyrocketing prices of food items in the country, as according to him, trucks conveying farm produce are powered by diesel.
Ogheh further stated that other factors responsible for high prices of food items include the treaty on free movement of goods and services put in place by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) among member states, which he said gives room for movement of not less than 300,000 trucks of grains outside Nigeria on daily basis which the ministry cannot check.
According to him, farmers are angry with him over moves to reduce food prices because they are benefiting immensely from the current situation.
He cited the cases of two farmers in Katsina and Anambra States who claimed to have made N4million and N1million respectively as profit from the current hike in food items.
Recall that the Federal Executive Council last week put together a task force to advise the government on steps to take to combat the rapid rise of cost of food items across the country.
Speaking after the task force submitted its interim report at Wednesday FEC meeting, Ogbeh said the Federal Government has taken some steps which are expected to lower the prices of food items in the country.
This, he highlighted, include the use of railways to transport food items.
