The Senate, on Tuesday, asked the Federal Government to distribute food stamps to poor Nigerians as part of the measures to cushion the current economic hardship in the country.
A food stamp is a piece of paper given by the government to people on low income, which they can exchange for food
The Senate urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to liaise with development partners and other relevant stakeholders, especially the Lagos Food Bank Initiative, which introduced Temporary Food Assistance Programme, a few years ago.
The resolution on the food stamps followed a motion sponsored by the Senate Chief Whip, Senator Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) and co-sponsored by Senator Saliu Mustapha (APC, Kwara Central) as well as the majority of other lawmakers during Tuesday’s plenary.
Ndume recalled that the October 2023 Cadre Harmonisé Analysis on food insecurity projected that in 2024, 26.5 million Nigerians will grapple with high levels of food insecurity.
He said, “The reason for the above projection is not far-fetched, as shown by several indicators, which include but are not limited to the ongoing conflicts across the country, climate change impacts, escalating inflation as witnessed in recent times, and rising costs of both food and essential non-food commodities, due to the fall in the value of naira in the exchange market.”
He expressed worry that many hungry and angry Nigerians had been voicing their frustration and anger over the recent increase in food prices.
