Buhari’s love for Nigeria reason he banned forex for food, fertilizer import —Shehu

Garba Shehu has defended President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to ban all food imports into Nigeria.

Shehu, who is the president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, said it was Buhari’s love for Nigeria that made him to direct the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to release a Kobo for food and fertilizer import into the country.

Shehu, who spoke on Friday when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily said:

“Nigerians must give consideration for the fact that the President’s directive to the CBN is driven by nothing other than a patriotic motive.”

Shehu stated this in response to the backlashes that have continued to trail Buhari’s directive to the CBN on Thursday not to give foreign exchange for food and fertilizer imports.

“I am not sure there is anywhere in the world that the Central Bank is so independent that it will operate as foreign ownership,” the President’s spokesman said.

Part of the concern being raised by Nigerians over the directive to the CBN, is that it could cause further inflation in the country, especially as Nigeria is not sufficient in food production and still needed forex to import some food items.

READ ALSO: Buhari bans forex on all food imports into Nigeria

But Shehu, during the TV programme, claimed that the prices of food items in the country were dropping as a result of the agricultural reforms of the Buhari’s administration.

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