UPDATED Cost-Of-Living Crisis: I don’t believe in price control

President Bola Tinubu said on Monday that he does not believe in price control and that his government would not embark on such a check on the cost-of-living crisis in the country.

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Mr Tinubu spoke during his first Presidential Media Chat on Monday.

“I don’t believe in price control,” the Nigerian leader said.

When asked what his government would do to check the high cost of goods and services, Mr Tinubu said: “We just continue to supply the market, we work hard to supply the market.”

Nigeria is witnessing its worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation, with food prices increasing by over 200 per cent since Mr Tinubu assumed office.

Government policies, such as the removal of petrol subsidies and the floating of the naira, made the crisis worse.

Background

In recent months, the prices of major staple foods, including rice, beans, bread, and poultry products, have maintained an upward trend across the country.

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The rising cost became more severe and troubling following the implementation of some of Mr Tinubu’s administration’s economic policies, such as the controversial removal of petrol subsidy and the floating of the naira policies.

The continuous increase in price amidst rising inflation figures has, on several occasions, forced many Nigerians to stage a nationwide protest tagged #EndbadgovernanceinNigeria to express their frustration.

Similarly, organised labour unions in the country have, on several occasions, taken to the streets to vent their frustrations, demanding an increase in wages to complement lingering inflationary pressure.

To address these concerns, the federal government has rolled out measures in the past 18 months to ameliorate the hardship in the country. Among these measures are the recent upward review of the minimum wage in the country, subsidised food items and input supply to farmers to boost food production in the country.

In September, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, flagged off the federal government subsidised rice initiative in Abuja, noting that only Nigerians with duly registered National Identification Numbers (NIN) will be allowed to purchase the subsidised rice.

He explained that the rice will be sold at a flat rate of ₦40,000 per 50kg bag, noting that the move is a crucial intervention to mitigate the effects of high food prices.

READ ALSO: UPDATED: Cost of Governance: I won’t reduce size of my cabinet – Tinubu

However, the impacts of these interventions are still negligible as food prices remain high. Despite injecting basic food items into Nigerian markets across states as part of efforts to force down the rising cost of foodstuffs in the country, the initiative has not yielded much success.

As many Nigerians are set to celebrate the Yuletide, the skyrocketing prices of food items have impacted the purchasing power of citizens across the country.

Efforts to distribute relief food items/packages to vulnerable people by some groups have also led to several cases of stampedes and deaths of citizens across the country, including the nation’s capital city, Abuja.