Yobe State Governor, Mai Mala Buni has held an emergency meeting to deliberate on the prevailing rise in the prices of grains and other essential commodities across the state.
The state government decried the practice of hoarding grains and other essential commodities in the state with a view to creating artificial scarcity and hiking their prices.
The meeting deliberated extensively on the prevailing cost of living crises across the state and came up with some measures.
Alhaji Abdullahi Bego, the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Information, and Culture, issued a communiqué after the meeting.
The Communique said that to stem the tide of food scarcity and the high cost of grains and other food items resulting from bulk purchases from Yobe markets by people who take those grains outside the nation’s borders, the state government liaised with security agencies to discourage such practices.
The state government has also taken measures to stop the hoarding of grains and other essential commodities by businessmen and middlemen.
To this end, bulk purchases of grains from Yobe markets will be closely monitored by security agencies to prevent and stop hoarding.
The purchase and transportation of large quantities of grains outside the state will be similarly monitored to ensure that speculators and hoarders do not take advantage of Yobe markets to cause artificial scarcity and deepen food insecurity in the country.
“The Yobe state government will roll out concrete measures very soon to cushion the effects of the rising cost of foodstuffs and other essential commodities for people across the state.
“A broad meeting of stakeholders will be similarly convened immediately in each local government area to further discuss the food security situation in the respective local government councils in order to generate workable ideas to address the challenges,” the communique added.
