The Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) on Monday described the worsening hike in food prices as worrisome.
The association, which said this at a conference held at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce (LCCI) building Alausa, Lagos State, added that more Nigerians require basic needs including food and shelter.
The Chairman of APBN, Lagos Chapter, Mr Abayomi Ogunjimi, said that the body was in its transition year while new executives were expected to take over from the incumbent.
APBN is an umbrella body of all recognized and chartered professional institutes, institutions, associations and societies that consist of over 30 professional bodies in Nigeria.
Ogunjimi said that Nigerians had been burdened with galloping inflation and other attendant economic hardship.
“The astronomical increase in the cost of food is becoming worrisome. Our country is faced with hunger. We call on the government to put in measures to halt this trend.
“The high cost of food prices could be attributed to several factors that are not limited to gross devaluation of the naira against major currencies.
“Other factors include displacement of farmers by bandits and terrorists, inconsistent policies of government, etc. We urge the government to intensify efforts to alleviate the suffering.
“We are also concerned with the free fall of naira against the dollar, while we are aware that the government is doing its best to get the naira stable because inflation will reduce the purchasing power of the citizen, ” he said.
Ogunjimi commended the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) policy of the naira redesign which he noted would have positive impact on the economy.
“The issue of corruption has become a cankerworm in the country in spite of the efforts being made by the various organs of the government.
“The recent announcement by the CBN to redesign naira is a welcome development that seems to have exposed corrupt Nigerians both in public and private sectors.
“The CBN should not allow pressure from any quarter that will lead to a change in its stand to carry out the already announced policy”, he said.
Ogunjimi noted that many of the professional bodies under its umbrella would also be actively involved in the political activities ahead of the 2023 general elections.
“The year 2022 precedes the 2023 election year; we are already witnessing lots of political activities. We have hope that campaigns will be devoid of hate speeches and languages that may heat up the polity.
“As professional body, many of our member organizations may be involved in some political activities; we advocate for issue-based campaign.
“We also hope that the government will not abandon governance for politics,” he said.
