By BASHIR ADEFAKA
Essentially, a bag of cement stood at N4,200 as at May 29, 2023 when Tinubu took over Nigeria’s administration from Buhari. Nine months after, it now sells for N8,000 and above making some Nigerians to ask how is Buhari responsible for the woes brought upon them by Tinubu when Buhari was not the one that asked him to remove fuel subsidy and float naira unprepared.
The administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has, once again, pushed the blames for currently biting high costs of foods in Nigeria on the previous administration he took over power from on May 29, 2024.
This was as the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, said the President Bola Tinubu government inherited the rising prices of food and general commodities from the previous administration but that he is doing what it can to bring down the prices of food as well as the soaring inflation rate in the country.
The finance minister stated this on Tuesday at the Public Wealth Management Conference in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
The DEFENDER media reports that saw Tinubu’s National Security Adviser, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, once saying because former President Muhammadu Buhari stole all the money in the treasury, there was no money for Tinubu to run the affairs the country just as his boss, Tinubu himself and members of his government and support groups had blamed the problem his May 29, 2023 inaugural speech brought on Nigeria and Nigerians due to his hurried removal of fuel subsidy and floating of Naira on Buhari.
His minister of finance said that the Federal Government was not unware of the sufferings of Nigerians as measures have been put in place to alleviate their sufferings.
The interventions, according to him, include the release of forty two thousand metric tons of grains and another sixty thousand metric tons expected to be released soon.
On the 22.7 trillion naira Ways and Means approved by previous administration, Edun explained that an audit is ongoing and details would be released soon.
He stressed that the Federal Government’s plan to double its tax revenues was on course.
The event was organised by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) to seek ways of managing the nation’s assets and resources for the overall wellbeing of the people.
The event was also graced by Vice President Kashim Shettima; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite; Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari; and the Governor of Cross Rivers State, Bassey Otu.
Also at the event were World Bank representatives as well as members of the private sector and the diplomatic corps.
On his part, the Vice President called for the enumeration of the nation’s public assets which he said has hitherto remained unaccounted for over the years.
Shettima said a conscious effort at the enumeration would help the government provide funding for the nation’s education and health sectors as well as lift many people out of poverty.
The Vice President was optimistic that the nation would rise above its present economic challenges as he alleged that there were forces bent on undermining the government’s efforts, especially with the recent illegal transportation of food out of the country.
Fact-check
Bread: On May 29, 2023, when Bola Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria’s 16th President, a medium-sized loaf of bread was sold for N600 but under his 100 days in office, with inflation in food prices, it jumped and sold for N900, indicating a 50 per cent rise. Today, ninth month after Tinubu’s taking over power from Buhari as head of the Nigerian state, loaf of bread that Buhari handed over to him at N600, which rose to sell for N900 100 after, is now selling for about N1,200.
Rice: A 50kg bag of local parboiled rice produced under the Muhammadu Buhari’s improved agricultural programme that sold for N34,000 before Buhari handed over to Tinubu on May 29, 2023 had sold for N42,000 in his first 100 days in office, while a 50kg bag of foreign parboiled rice that equally sold for N34,000 before under Buhari went up selling for N53,000 under Tinubu’s 100 days in office.
Not a single voice of the Made-in-Nigeria rice mantra of Buhari’s administration is heard as now a 50kg bag of only foreign rice, either smuggled through the land border or imported by the sea port, now sells for over N73,000 nine months after Tinubu took over power from the previous government.
Vegetable Oil: The price of a bottle of vegetable oil rose from N900 (under Buhari) to N1,200 (100 days of Tinubu in office) and nine months after N1,500, while a 5-litre bottle that sold for N8,200 in his 100 days in office as against N6,100 in May and now sold for N8,500 in his nine months in office. A medium-sized crate of eggs sold for N2,200 during his inauguration on May 29, 2023 but sold for N2,550 in his 100 days in office while now, nine months after taking over, it sells for N3,000 and above.
Essentially, a bag of cement stood at N4,200 as at May 29, 2023 when Tinubu took over Nigeria’s administration from Buhari. Nine months after, it now sells for N8,000 and above making some Nigerians to ask how is Buhari responsible for the woes brought upon them by Tinubu when Buhari was not the one that asked him to remove fuel subsidy and float naira unprepared.
Despite Tinubu’s declaring a state of emergency on food security and unveiling an immediate, short and long-term plan for the sector, average food prices of critical staples across major cities in the country have surged by over 20 percent, causing food inflation to hit 26.98 percent in July 2023 – a new 17-year high.
