The Senator representing Ondo South in the National Assembly, Jimoh Ibrahim, has urged the federal government to give food vouchers to Nigerians as a way of curbing the hardship and hunger in the country.
According to him, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Finance also need to harmonize their policies.
News360 Info reports Senator Ibrahim made the suggestion during a press conference held in Washington DC, which also had the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Olayemi Cardoso and the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, in attendance.
The lawmaker submitted that giving out food vouchers would impact about 20 million Nigerians directly, reduce inflation, and stabilize the naira.
The Ogun federal lawmaker stated that when the problem of food and hunger is not solved, the nation is headed for a crisis.
He said, “Stabilize the naira and remove 20 million Nigerians suffering from hunger and food insecurity.
It will reduce inflation because you are using vouchers as opposed to using cash.
This is a harmonious policy, and when it’s done, it will help the government to have a direct impact on those who are affected by poverty and food insecurity. So, vouchers for food is very significant.
Imagine you give N100,000 per month to anybody above 18 years that is really affected by food insecurity and poverty, you see every month they draw down on this in the first one year. It makes more sense than some palliatives that have to do with solar power and things like that.
It’s very important because when you don’t solve the problem of food and hunger, then you are looking for crisis. This is why we are saying that the economic policy of the central bank and the ministry of finance should be harmonised, and then we can have a clear account to print vouchers for food.
