The Nigerian equivalent of the “food stamps program” has been recommended by the Senate to be implemented by the Federal Government as a temporary measure to mitigate the impact of the nation’s food scarcity.
This came after Sen. Ali Ndume, the Senate Chief Whip, adopted a resolution in plenary on “The Introduction of Food Stamps in Nigeria as an Interim Measure to Address Imminent Food Insecurity in the country.”
In introducing the motion, Ndume stated that food stamps were government-issued vouchers that had been in circulation since 1939 in other nations, including the United States.
He explained, “This is a step to lessen the ensuing hardships and sufferings on the impoverished and less fortunate as well as low-income earners.”
Regarding the October Cadre Harmonize Analysis, he voiced concerns on food insecurity which projected that in 2024, Nigeria was expected to see about 26.5 million people grappling with high levels of food insecurity.
The lawmaker said the reason for the above projection was not far-fetched as several indicators which included but were not limited to the ongoing conflicts across the country and climate change impacts.
Ndume said that many hungry and angry Nigerians had been expressing their frustration and anger over the recent increase in food prices by demonstrating on the streets in several cities across the country.
He said that the clamour for a wage increase and work support could not alone guarantee a more effective way of addressing food insecurity without the introduction of a time-tested public assistance programme.
In his contribution Sen. Solomon Adeola (APC-Ogun) called for the deployment of modern technology to curb abuses. “The question is how do we achieve this for over 200 million population, a data must be in place to ensure that the real vulnerable Nigerians get it,” he said
