From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will meet in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, today, to review the current state of the nation.
Director-General of the forum, C.I.D. Maduabum, in a statement, yesterday said: “The meeting will further review the current state of the nation, especially issues of national security and the economy, and also fine-tune strategies to support PDP as a viable and necessary alternative to the All Progressives Congress administration.”
Maduabum said the meeting, expected to be attended by the 15 governors elected under the PDP, would be presided over by the forum chairman and Sokoto Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, while Oyo Governor, Seyi Makinde would be the chief host.
Meanwhile, the party has charged President Muhammadu Buhari to take urgent steps to address food insecurity and the attendant hunger and starvation across the country.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, yesterday, the party said over 82.9 million Nigerians could no longer afford their daily meals.
The opposition party said food insecurity was created by the failure of the Federal Government to take practical steps to grow and protect the agricultural sector, ‘thereby leading to severe food scarcity with prices soaring beyond the reach of Nigerians.”
“Our country now ranks as 98 out of 107 in Global Hunger Index, with an agonising food shortage, collapsed purchasing power; alarming 33.3 per cent unemployment and 22.95 food inflation rates as well as increased morbidity and mortality rates. Today, under the APC, a bag of rice which sold for N8,000 under the PDP now sells for N30,000; a measure of garri and beans which sold for N150 and N250 now sell for N500 and N800 respectively; a measure of maize and guinea corn which sold for about N150 now sells for N400; while a kilo of meat which sold for about N800 now sells for about N2,300. Our party notes that the current food crisis is occasioned by the failure of the APC administration to recalibrate our agricultural sector as well as to take decisive steps to address the violence, terrorism and banditry in food production areas.”
The PDP also accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government of insensitive to calls by the opposition and well meaning Nigerians “to address the escalated violent attacks and killing of farmers as well as livestock producers, by bandits, terrorists and criminal herders.”
