By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has said recent progress made in tackling insecurity and banditry will increase food production and bring down prices.
“We expect to see a leap in food production and a downward spiral in food costs. I promise you, we shall not falter on this,” President Tinubu said on Tuesday during his 7 am Nigeria’s 64th Independence Day Broadcast monitored by Business Post.
Recall that the high cost of food remains a critical challenge for the country with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) saying the food inflation rate in August 2024 was 37.52 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 8.18 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 (29.34 per cent).
It attributed the rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis to increases in prices of bread, maize, grains, guinea corn, bread, cereals yam, Irish potatoes, water yam, cassava tuber, palm oil, and vegetable oil, among others.
According to the President, his “administration is winning the war on terror and banditry” with a target to eliminate all the threats of Boko Haram, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and violent extremism.
“Within one year, our government has eliminated Boko Haram and bandit commanders faster than ever. As of the last count, over 300 Boko Haram and bandit commanders have been eliminated by our gallant troops in the Northeast, Northwest, and some other parts of the country,” he said.
“We have restored peace to hundreds of communities in the North and thousands of our people have been able to return home. It is an unfinished business, which our security agencies are committed to ending as quickly as possible.
“As soon as we can restore peace to many communities in the troubled parts of the North, our farmers can return to their farms. We expect to see a leap in food production and a downward spiral in food costs. I promise you, we shall not falter on this,” he said.