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Good times are back! We have slashed food prices by 50 per cent – FG
Food prices have gone down by half under the government of President Bola Tinubu, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari, said on Friday, stating that its efforts to contain food inflation have started to pay off.
Kyari, who stressed that this was in contrast to previous years when food prices skyrocketed way beyond what most Nigerians could afford, spoke at the 2026 ministerial stakeholders’ engagement retreat on agricultural transformation in Abuja.
Emphasising that the government’s efforts had also attracted millions of dollars in investments across various agribusiness ventures, injecting much-needed capital into the sector and stimulating economic growth, he stated: “This support has not only boosted agricultural productivity but also created jobs, increased incomes, and enhanced the overall competitiveness of Nigeria’s agribusiness sector, paving the way for a more prosperous and sustainable agricultural future.
“These efforts reflect our commitment to improving food security and the overall well-being of citizens. We are working to sustain this trend by addressing high input costs to ensure food remains accessible and affordable.”
The Minister, who spoke against the backdrop of the demand by stakeholders to the government to boost current funding to the sector more than it spends on security, to reduce insecurity across the country, maintained that by prioritising agriculture as a key driver of economic growth, the government’s efforts are yielding results.
His words: “We will continue to collaborate with stakeholders, leveraging resources and expertise to drive growth and transformation in Nigeria’s agricultural sector. Together, let us build on our achievements and tackle the challenges ahead.
“Our strategic focus on developing key value chains is positioning Nigeria as a major player in the global agricultural market. We have prioritised and developed the rice, maize, wheat, millet, sorghum, yam, cocoa, kenaf, cowpea, cassava, soybeans, cotton, onion, tomato, and oil palm value chains, thereby creating opportunities for millions of smallholder farmers and other stakeholders.
“By enhancing their productivity, we have helped these farmers to transition from subsistence farming to thriving agribusinesses, contributing to national food security, employment generation, and economic growth.
“In the last two years, the federal government boosted agricultural productivity and food security through various initiatives, including the distribution of over 1.9 million bags of fertilisers to nearly one million farmers, promoting sustainable soil management with 12,000 liters of organic fertilizers, and strengthening regulatory frameworks.
“Key achievements from 2024–2025 include constructing approximately 170km of asphalt roads and 57km of earth and surface roads, boosting connectivity and market access.
“Additionally, 296 motorized and solar-powered boreholes have been provided, alongside water treatment plants, to improve access to clean water. The installation of 3,596 solar street lights has enhanced security and mobility, while 69 rural housing and market facilities have been built to support economic activities, reduce poverty, and improve the quality of life for rural communities.”
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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