The Federal Government of Nigeria has disclosed the main reason behind the hike in food prices across the nation.
The Federal Government noted that the high cost of diesel and transportation of food items has increased thereby increasing the cost of foodstuffs.
The Federal Government speaking through the Agriculture Minister, Audu Ogbeh, who is a member of the Special task force constituted last week at the Federal Executive Council meeting, to look into the how best to address the issue, revealed that investigations conducted by the task force pointed to the increased pump price of diesel as a major cause of the food price hike.
Audu Ogbeh further noted that the use of wagons in transportation of cattle from the North to the Southwest, predominantly Lagos, has helped in reducing the cost of cattle in the south.
He added that such measures will be replicated in the food items department to combat the increase in price.
He said: “We will also work with state governments to reduce delays experienced by trucks along the roads through all sort of taxes by local governments.”