Emergency Meeting Today At The State House With All 36 State Governors
Dear Nigerians: My administration is committed to developing home-grown solutions to address our country’s food security concerns head-on, including programs to boost local food production and eliminate all types of rent-seeking associated with food importation.
During my emergency meeting at the State House today, I reiterated this pledge to all 36 state governors, the Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, the National Security Adviser, the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the DSS, and several ministers.
On The Security Of Lives And Properties
1. I approved the formation of a group comprised of state governors and federal government representatives to investigate, among other things, the potential of forming state police.
2. I have also advocated for sub-national governments to educate and equip forest rangers to defend our communities’ human and ecological resources.
My position is unequivocal: we must proceed swiftly to investigate the issues posed, including the possibility of forming state police.
On Food Security
Following reports from Kano and other areas of large-scale food hoarding in some warehouses, I have directed the National Security Adviser, Inspector-General of Police, and Director-General of the Department of State Services to work closely together to ensure that security agencies in the states inspect such warehouses and take appropriate action.
1. We cannot let speculators, hoarders, and rent seekers undermine our efforts to ensure that food is readily available to all Nigerians.
2. I will not form a price control board or approve food imports. We must get ourselves out of this situation since importation just allows rent seekers to commit fraud and mismanagement at our collective expense.
3. Instead, we will provide our farmers with incentives to grow more food for the nation.
4. We must also quickly but carefully implement our livestock development and management plans, which include dairy farming and other activities.
On Monetary Policy And The CBN
I urge all governors to place their trust in the Central Bank of Nigeria to oversee our country’s monetary policy, and I highlight the importance of authorized institutions carrying out their duty properly.
The “cacophony of postulations” around foreign currency rate fluctuations is hurting the market. Not everybody can be an expert. If we have assigned someone a task, we must allow them to complete it. If they fail, we must devise a method to immediately remove them from the system.
I also urge our governors to emphasize our people’s welfare and prosperity in their development projects, and I assure them that the federal government will continue to work hard to strengthen the nation’s revenue profile.
As leaders, we must collaborate to address issues of insecurity, food security, and out-of-school children.
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