By AbdulFatai Beki
The Kwara House of Assembly on Tuesday urged the State Government to put appropriate price control mechanisms in place to halt perennial hike in prices of food items in the state.
This, the legislature said, was especially during the current Ramadan and beyond.
The house in its resolution at plenary, adopted a Motion on Notice entitled: “Need to Control High Pricss of Food Items in Kwara during the ongoing Ramadan and Beyond”.
The motion which was moved by Abdullahi Danbaba (APC-
Kaiama-Kamanje-Wajibe) enjoyed the support of all members at the plenary.
Danbaba in his submission while leading a debate on the motion, attributed escalation of prices of foodstuff to insecurity ravaging the nation which, he said, incapacitated farmers from embarking on production.
He said farmers were no longer safe to go to farms for usual business of land cultivation for food production
Danbaba expressed concern over what he described as high prices of food items in all parts of the state and stressed the need for urgent action of the state government to curb it.
Other legislstors who spoke, urged food stuff dealers in the state to desist from unnecessary inflation of foodstuff prices, particularly during the holy month of Ramadan.
The Speaker, Mr Yakubu Danladi, while reading the resolutions of the house on the motion, urged the state government to direct Weigh and Measures Unit of the state Ministry of Enterprise to rise to the responsibility of regulating prices of goods and services in the state.
The resolution urged the state government to encourage massive food production by promising incentives for farmers in the state with farm inputs like tractors and fertilisers, among others.
The lawmakers also urged the state government to encourage community policing, particularly in the hinterland and border communities and encourage security agencies to be more proactive in the discharge of their duties.
The speaker mandated the House Committees on Commerce, Industry, Women Affairs and Social Development in collaboration with the ministry of enterprise to interface with the leadership of market associations with a view to addressing issues involved.
