Association urges govt to check rising prices of essential commodities

The Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN) has decried the astronomical increase in the cost of food items, stressing that the country was fast degenerating into a land plagued with hunger.

Speaking at its board meeting in Abuja, President of APBN, Akin Oyegbola, called on the federal government to put in place measures to halt the trend. He blamed the high cost of food prices on the depreciation of the naira against major currencies, displacement of farmers by bandits and terrorists, inconsistent policies among others.

Oyegbola also condemned the rising price of cooking gas and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately take action to prevent a further hike in the price.

He said: “The Association wishes to further bring to the attention of the government to the inflation that has greeted the Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG), commonly referred to as cooking gas. We hereby call on Buhari to immediately take action to prevent further increases in the price of LPG. It is disheartening to note that the price of gas has risen by almost 100 per cent over the past year.

“This is a product that is used by several households in the country. Currently, the cost of cooking gas has continued to climb, from an average of N4, 500 at the beginning of the year to the current price of between 8,750 and N10, 000 for the popular 12.5kg cylinder.”