PDP advises FG to address food insecurity

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the Federal Government to take urgent steps to address food insecurity and its attendant hunger in the country.

The party gave the advice in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja on Sunday.

Ologbondiyan said the call became necessary due to food scarcity with prices soaring beyond the reach of Nigerians.

He said it was also important following the ranking of Nigeria as 98 out of 107 in Global Hunger Index, with food shortage, low purchasing power; alarming 33.3 percent unemployment and 22.95 food inflation rates as well as increased morbidity and mortality rates.

The party’s spokesman said: “today the prices of food items have gone up due to violence, terrorism and banditry in food production areas.

Ologbondiyan reiterated the party’s call on the government to address violent attacks and killing of farmers as well as livestock producers by bandits, terrorists and criminal herders resulting in desertion of farms in various parts of the country.

He said that farmers now resort to Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps as their fields and farmhouses which have also been taken over by bandits and terrorists.

Ologbondiyan added that insecurity had also hampered the production and distribution value chain, with no hope in sight.

“Our party charges President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent steps to address the urgent issue of hunger by opening our silos to cushion the situation and push down prices.

“The Federal Government should also realign the agricultural sector by beefing up security in food production areas so that our farmers can return to the farmlands.

“The PDP also believes that the time has come for President Buhari to provide direct stimuli to small businesses as incentive to pay salaries, revamp production and boost purchasing power.”

Ologbondiyan also advised the president to take steps to recover the country’s stolen money and channel part of it to emergency action for food security in the country.