Nigeria releases $241M to tackle food shortage

By Olanrewaju Kola

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria on Thursday announced the release of $241 million to tackle a food shortage in the country.

Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno state said the money will be spent on buying food and distributing it to citizens as the government’s response to inflation and insufficient food supplies following the removal of a subsidy on petrol.

"In order to cushion the effect of food shortages across the country, the federal government approved the sum of 5 billion naira ($6.5 million) to be given to each state for the procurement of 100,000 bags of rice, 40,000 bags of maize and fertilizers," Zulum said at a press conference after a meeting of the National Economic Council in the capital, Abuja.

There are 36 states in the country and the federal capital territory, which also has state status.

The government is concerned about the rising cost of living and the worsening food shortage in the country, Zulum said.

The country’s inflation rate rose between February and July this year to about 24.08%, the highest since September 2005, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.​​​​​​​

Prices of food, beverages, transport and medicine have skyrocketed since May after President Bola Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy.