“President Bola Tinubu was misled by his advisers that the suspension of duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of food staples through land and sea borders would reduce inflation,” said Dolapo Bright, a former Special Adviser to former President Muhammadu Buhari on agriculture.
Bright made this claim during Sunday’s broadcast of the sociopolitical show Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television.
The former aide claimed that the price of commodities has been severely impacted by the increase in diesel and gasoline prices, which are necessary for the transportation of food goods.
“I don’t believe it took place. The individual who gave the government that counsel is a fool; if you know what’s going on, you won’t give such advice.
“The president is being misled by the individual. Are you aware of why? Assume for the moment that you intend to import. Lagos will be the destination of importation. Do you not intend to ship the item to other states? It is illogical since it will lead our agriculture to stagnate,” he stated.
As Nigerians struggle with what may be the biggest cost of living crisis since the nation’s independence more than 60 years ago, food and commodity inflation has soared.
Recall that the National Bureau of Statistics, or NBS, reported that Nigeria’s inflation rate was 22.41% in May 2023, the month President Tinubu took office.
In November 2024, the inflation rate skyrocketed to 34.6%, more than 12% higher, a situation that economic wizards have attributed to Tinubu’s twin policies of petrol subsidy removal and unification of the forex rates.
Notably, the food inflation rate in November 2024 was 39.93%, up from 32.84% in November 2023 on an annual basis.
The average cost of fish, rice, yam flour, millet whole grain, maize flour, eggs, milk, and frozen chicken has gone up due to the spike in food inflation.
The Tinubu administration declared in July 2024 that customs tariffs on imported food goods would be suspended in an effort to curb food inflation, but bureaucratic delays have apparently prevented the program from being implemented.
Bright, who served as Buhari’s agricultural advisor from 2015 to 2023, claims that the government bears some of the blame for inflation since it is attempting to control agriculture rather than letting the private sector handle it.
“President Bola Tinubu was misled by his advisers that the suspension of duties, tariffs, and taxes on the importation of food staples through land and sea borders would reduce inflation,” said Dolapo Bright, a former Special Adviser to former President Muhammadu Buhari on agriculture.
Bright made this claim during Sunday’s broadcast of the sociopolitical show Inside Sources with Laolu Akande on Channels Television.
The former aide claimed that the price of commodities has been severely impacted by the increase in diesel and gasoline prices, which are necessary for the transportation of food goods.
“I don’t believe it took place. The individual who gave the government that counsel is a fool; if you know what’s going on, you won’t give such advice.