President Buhari directs CBN to stop providing forex for food importation

President Muhammadu Buhari directs CBN to stop providing FX for food imports
The president believes Nigeria has achieved “steady improvement in agricultural production, and attainment of full food security.”
He says foreign reserves should be used strictly for diversification of the economy and not for encouraging more dependence on foreign food.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stop providing foreign exchange for importation of food into the country.

The president harped the decision on the “steady improvement in agricultural production, and attainment of full food security.”

He stated this on Tuesday, August 13, in his hometown, Daura, Katsina State while on Eid-el-Kabir break.

President Muhammadu Buhari Pulse Nigeria

“Don’t give a cent to anybody to import food into the country.

“We have achieved food security, and for physical security, we are not doing badly,’’ Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) quoted him as saying in a release.

President Buhari noted that some states like Kebbi, Ogun, Lagos, Jigawa, Ebonyi and Kano had already taken advantage of the government’s policy on agriculture with huge returns in rice farming, urging more states to plug into the ongoing revolution to feed the nation.

He said the country's foreign reserves should be used strictly for diversification of the economy and not for encouraging more dependence on foreign food.