As organised Labour issues FG 14-day ultimatum: Tinubu orders release of 102,000 metric tons of food items

As organised Labour issues FG 14-day ultimatum: Tinubu orders release of 102,000 metric tons of food items

In the midst of cry of hunger occasioned by the rising cost of food items, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Thursday, directed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to release about 42,000 metric tons of maize, millet, garri and other commodities from its strategic reserve to Nigerians.

Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris said this while briefing State House correspondents in Abuja.

He said 60,000 metric tons of rice to be sourced from the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria would also be distributed.

The minister said the decision was part of measures by the federal government to ensure food becomes more readily available to Nigerians.

Idris said: “Today’s meeting was again on the issue of difficulty, like I said two days ago, of putting food on the table of most Nigerians, and the federal government has come up with several measures to ensure that food becomes more readily available to Nigerians.

“The first one is that the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has been directed to release about 42,000 metric tons of maize, millet, garri and other commodities in their strategic reserve so that these items will be made available to Nigerians; 42000 metric tons immediately.

“The second one is that we have held meetings with the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria, those who are responsible for producing this rice and we have asked them to open up their stores.

“They’ve told us that they can guarantee about 60,000 metric tons of rice. This will be made available and we know that is enough to take Nigerians for the next one month to six weeks, perhaps up to two months 60,000 metric tons. They’ve agreed that they will make that available to Nigerians to bring it out to the market so that food is made available.

“Now,  the whole idea of this is to crash the cost of these food items. And these are measures that will happen immediately.

“42,000 metric tons from the strategic government reserve, about 60,000 metric tons of rice from the Rice Millers Association, they have them in all their storage facilities and government in conjunction with them after this exhaustive meeting, has directed that they also bring this out immediately so that your food, I mean the price of rice, will come down significantly.

“Now the third item is that the government is also looking at the possibility, if it becomes necessary as an interim measure in the short run, to also import some of these commodities immediately so that these commodities can be made available to Nigerians immediately within the next couple of weeks.

”Now, with all these emergency measures, there is of course a directive to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to invest massively in conjunction with Nigerian farmers and other producers so that we can have a better season coming up shortly.

“We all know that dry season farming is happening, that will take effect very shortly, and that we hope will also contribute, because as soon as the dry season farming gets underway, the government hopes that food prices will also come down.”

“As I said, these are all measures that are taken immediately, and as an emergency measure to bring down the cost of food items. In the long run, Federal Ministry of Agriculture is going to invest massively so that Nigeria will recover its potential as a food basket and we don’t expect that going forward we are going to be faced with these challenges again,” he added.

The minister appealed to those hoarding food commodities to desist from doing so and ensure food items were readily made available in the stores of many traders.

“Well, you cannot hold the nation to ransom. You cannot have these commodities and you’re hoarding them in your stores when we all need them. We are in an emergency and we’ll take emergency measures to make sure that this food is available to Nigerians.

“Government is appealing to them, that they should open up these stores, make these commodities available in the interest of our nation. There is no point when the whole country is looking for this food, you are looking up these products so that you make more money and then Nigerians suffer.

“Of course, the government will not fold its arms. We know where all these major traders are. We know where all these major stores are. And if they don’t respond by bringing these commodities to the market, the government will take appropriate measures to ensure that these products are made available to Nigerians,” Idris further said.

He said the government would do whatever is humanly possible to ensure that food is made available to Nigerians at an affordable price.

The minister also spoke on the 14-day ultimatum by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria over the current economic situation in the country.

He said it was not in the interest of anyone for the organised labour to embark on strike, and therefore, appealed to the unions to come for a round table discussion to arrive at amicable resolutions to their grievances.

“Well, we appeal to labour to always see reason with the government. It is not in the government’s interest for the labour to continue to go on strike.

“We appeal with labour, let them come again, around the table to continue to have engagements and conversations around whatever grey areas they think they have in some of these agreements that have already been signed,” he said.

Reminded that labour accused the government of being in the habit of not keeping to agreements with unions, the minister said: “No, I think the government keeps its promises. If there are other things that they (NLC, TUC) think they are concerned about, I think that they will sit down with the government and the government is ever ready to listen to labour so that we can have an amicable resolution to all these.”

Earlier, the NLC and TUC had issued a 14-day nationwide strike notice to the federal government over the government’s failure  to implement the agreements reached  October 2, 2023, after the removal of the subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol.

The lamented that despite organised labour’s efforts to ensure industrial peace, the government appeared unperturbed by the mass suffering and hardship across the country.

In a statement Thursday, the unions said the October 2 agreement was “focused on addressing the massive suffering and the general harsh socioeconomic consequences of the ill-conceived and ill-executed IMF/World Bank-induced hike in the price of PMS and the devaluation of the naira. These dual policies have had, as we predicted, dire economic consequences for the masses and workers of Nigeria.”

“It is regrettable that we are compelled to resort to such measures, but the persistent neglect of the welfare of citizens and Nigerian workers and the massive hardship leave us with no choice.

Effective February 9 (tomorrow), among others, the two labour unions said, “Constrained by this development and recognising the urgency of the situation and the imperative of ensuring the protection and defence of the rights and dignity of Nigerian workers and citizens, the NLC and TUC hereby issue a stern ultimatum to the Federal Government to honour their part of the understanding within 14 days from tomorrow, the 9th day of February, 2024.” the statement further added.