Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari, has restated the determination of his administration to create a just, harmonious, and prosperous country in which the safety of life and property is assured.
The President said this in his Eid El-Adha message marking the Muslim occasion being celebrated across the world.
Reflecting on current challenges facing the country, the President stated that the Covid-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on the economies of all countries, including Nigeria, in addition to the fact that floods have caused large scale destruction to agricultural farmlands, thereby impacting negatively on government efforts to boost local production in line with its policy to drastically reduce food importation.
He explained that the situation has led to food inflation which the government is working hard to address.
According to President Buhari, “No government in recent history has invested as heavily as his government to promote local production of about 20 other commodities, through the provision of loans and several other forms of support to our farmers.
The President in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said: “Apart from the destruction caused to rice farms by floods, middlemen have also taken advantage of the local rice production to exploit fellow Nigerians, thereby undermining its goal of supporting local food production at affordable prices.”
The President also noted that the current insecurity in the country “has produced severe and adverse effects on agriculture because farmers are prevented from accessing their farms by bandits and terrorists.”
Speaking on the significance of the Eid El-Kabir celebration, the President appealed to Muslims “to demonstrate the good virtues of Islam through personal examples and practices.
