Government Will not Pay a Kobo of Foreign Reserves to Import Food or Fertilizer Says President Buhari

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Obiajulu Joel Nwolu

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President Muhammadu Buhari has instructed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make forex inaccessible for people seeking to import food items and fertilizer.

The President said this at the meeting of the National Food Security Council at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Thursday.

It restates the earlier directive on forex given by Buhari in August 2019.

President Buhari asked private businesses determined to import food items to use their money to compete with local farmers, noting that government will not provide forex for such purposes in a bid to promote local production.

He said, “I am restating it that nobody importing food or fertilizer should be given foreign exchange from the Central Bank. We will not pay a kobo of our foreign reserves to import food or fertilizer.

“We have a lot of able-bodied young people willing to work and agriculture is the answer. We have a lot to do to support our farmers.

“From only three operating in the country, we have 33 fertilizer blending plants now working. We will not pay a kobo of our foreign reserves to import fertilizer. We will empower local producers.”

The Buhari administration have long been promoting policies that dissuade importation and promote reliance on local production.