Sen Ndume commends Tinubu over emergency declaration on food security

By Musa Baba Adamu

The Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has commended the President Bola Tinubu for declaring a national emergency on food security.

Ndume’s commendation followed the Federal Government’s announcement on Monday at the 6th African Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage in Abuja.

At the event, Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, who stood in for President Tinubu, called for expanded irrigation infrastructure and participatory water resource management nationwide.

Akume revealed that the country possesses more than 3.1 million hectares of irrigable land located around key river basins such as the Niger and Benue.

It would be recalled that Tinubu had made a similar pronouncement after a meeting with stakeholders in the agricultural sector, during which he directed the immediate release of fertilisers and grains to farmers and households to ease the pains of petrol subsidy removal.

But Ndume, in a statement yesterday, 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 the creation of a Department of Government Efficiency, to be under the direct supervision of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The lawmaker said such a new department would ensure “that Ministries, Department and Agencies 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 a state of emergency on food security in Borno State by providing thousands of tractors, irrigation equipment, and fertiliser to farmers at subsidised prices 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 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 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.”