Buhari to CBN: Don't give a kobo on forex for food, fertilizer imports
- The federal government has shown readiness to deal with the problem of food insecurity in Nigeria
- To prove this, President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, September 10, warned the CBN not to give foreign exchange for food and importation of fertilizer
- President Buhari said that this will discourage the importation of food crops which escalates their prices
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President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, September 10, directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to issue foreign exchange for food and importation of fertilizer.
The president gave this directive to the CBN during the meeting of the National Food Security held in Abuja on Thursday.
President Buhari's reason for this was influenced by the need for the federal government to boost Nigeria's agricultural sector.
The restriction, the president explained, is also meant to discourage importation of food crops which inflate prices; he added that blenders of fertilizer are now allowed to take their products straight to state governments.
Source: Depositphotos
The Nigerian leader's message to importers now is that they should use their money to compete with local farmers by sourcing for foreign exchange themselves.
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He said: ”From only three operating in the country, we have 33 fertilizer blending plants now working.
"We will not pay a kobo of our foreign reserves to import fertilizer. We will empower local producers. We have a lot of able-bodied young people willing to work and agriculture is the answer. We have a lot to do to support our farmers.”
The president expressed the belief that the best way to deal with the menace of food insecurity is to grow the nation's agricultural wealth.
Earlier, members of the National Food Security Council (NFSC) had a crucial meeting with President Buhari at the State House, Abuja.
State governors who were in attendance at the meeting included Alhaji Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Alhaja Mohammed Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa, Simon Lalong of Plateau, Darius Ishaku of Taraba, and Dave Umahi of Ebonyi.
Some ministers like that of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, humanitarian affairs, disaster management and social development, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq and top government officials were also at the meeting.
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Source: Legit.ng
