Unic Press UK: The acting president of Nigeria Yemi Osinbajo has established a presidential task force that will formulate a blueprint for bringing down the high price of food and food items.
Osinbajo, who announced the formation of the task force at the federal executive council meeting that was held on Wednesday, the 1st February 2017, expressed concern over the incessant rise in the price of food, saying that the government will be exploring a series of options on how to espouse food availability and affordability.
The members of the task force are:
- Minister of Agriculture & Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh
- Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun
- Minister of Industry, Trade & Development, Okey Enelamah
- Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi
- Minister for Water Resources, Suleiman Adamu
- Minister of Labour & Employment, Chris Ngige
- Offices of the Chief of Staff to the President
- Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs
Among other things, the presidential task force is required to design within seven days’ a plan on how the government is to intervene in the transportation and preservation processes to bring down the high price of food.
The Nigeria economy has consistently deteriorated for over a year. The economy is in a recession. The rate of inflation peaked at 18.55% in December 2016. The gap between the official rate and the parallel market rates are too wide. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) official rate is NGN305.25/$1. The parallel market rate is NGN500/$1.
Fitch Ratings, Inc., one of the leading credit rating agencies, recently revised the outlook on Nigeria from stable to negative, citing:
- GDP growth of -1.5% in 2016.
- Estimated limited economic recovery in 2017.
- Foreign exchange restriction and tight foreign currency liquidity.
- Wide gap between the official rate and the parallel market rates.
- Worsening asset quality in the banking sector.
- Inflation rate of 18.55% in December 2016.
