BY ORIAKU IJELE
The complaints in various quarters about the high cost of food items are making many prominent citizens of Nigeria uncomfortable indeed. In the last one year, prices of basic food items have risen by over 80% and this is spawning fears of civil unrest by the Nigerian poor, whose number has risen astronomically too, owing to various measures being implemented by the Federal Government.
To this end, eminent lawyer, Olisa Agbakoba SAN, has joined in expressing fears, warning that food riots is imminent in Nigeria. Agbakoba, who spoke at a media chat with journalists on Tuesday, also warned the Federal Government to act quickly to avoid a food riot because of the level of poverty in the country.The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also asked President Bola Tinubu to dismantle the entire oil and gas system to allow for greater efficiency. He noted the enormous oil and gas resources and the huge revenue generated in the sector.
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He identified some of the challenges in the sector to include exclusion of Nigerian participation in key value chains of exploration, shipping, drilling and legal services to weak enforcement of local content laws, tax avoidance by oil rig companies and even hijack by foreigners.
Agbakoba also called on the President to dismantle his large cabinet and appoint a substantive petroleum minister who will drive policies and implement stricter monitoring, transparent and regular audits of the sector to increase revenue and create at least 500,000 to 1 million new jobs in the sector and relegated industries over the next decade.
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