President Muhammadu Buhari has blamed middlemen for the rising prices of foodstuffs in the country .
In his national broadcast on Nigeria’s 61st independence anniversary Friday, Buhari said, “Unfortunately, as our food production capacity has increased, food prices have been going up due to artificial shortages created by middlemen who have been buying and hoarding these essential commodities for profiteering.”
To address this, the President directed the ministry of Agriculture to rehabilitate the national food reserve agency and work with some agencies to address the problem.
“I am hereby directing the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to rehabilitate the National Food Reserve Agency and also work with security agencies, the Nigerian Commodity Exchange, and the National Assembly to find a lasting solution to these disruptive and unpatriotic hoarding activities”, Buhari said.
