Reps charge Nigerian govt to address rising cost of living

The House of Representatives on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to address the rising cost of living in the country.

This followed the adoption of a motion presented by a lawmaker from Ogun State, Isiaka Ibrahim, at the plenary in Abuja.

Ibrahim, who led the debate on the motion titled: “Urgent Intervention on Reducing Cost of Living,” said the rising cost of living in the country was unbearable.

He lamented that the impact was huge on individuals and families, and urged the government to intervene to bring down the cost of living.

The lawmaker pointed out that the skyrocketing cost of housing, food, healthcare, and education had led to increasing hardship in the country.

He said: “The current inflation has eroded the purchasing power of individuals with higher prices for goods and services.

“Stagnant wages and limited job opportunities have also further exacerbated the financial strain on individuals and families, making it increasingly difficult to make ends meet.”

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He said the impact of rising costs of living was particularly severe for low-income groups who had been forced to make difficult choices between necessities.

In his contribution, the lawmaker from Borno State, Ahmed Jaha, said: “If we as lawmakers are comfortable in our comfort zone, we should understand that our constituents are not and so we are sitting on a time bomb.

“We don’t need soothsayers to tell you that people are hungry; there must be a patriotic measure to bring back this country.

“The cost of staple food has increased by almost 500 percent. We have an issue in Nigeria with capital inflow to our country, particularly the Diaspora.

“There must be a conducive environment created by the government to encourage investors, and this will be possible when we have security in place.”

The House, therefore, appealed to the federal government to distribute food from the national food reserve to Nigerians to cushion the effects of the current food inflation.

The parliament also called for the importation of poultry products, meats, beverages, healthcare products, and pharmaceuticals from other countries as a short-term measure.

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