The rising cost of basic commodities across the federation dominated debates at the Senate, yesterday, as the upper legislative chamber adopted a motion, asking the Federal Government to introduce food stamps.
  
It held that the measure would provide temporary relief to the teeming population of hungry and angry citizens. Sponsored by the Chief whip, Mohammed Ali Ndume, the motion specifically “urged the Federal Government to introduce the Nigerian version of the Food Stamps programme as an interventionist measure to cushion the effects of food insecurity/shortage in the country.”
 
 The Senate also “urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to liaise with development partners and other relevant stakeholders, especially the Lagos Food Bank Initiative, which introduced Temporary Food Assistance Programme (TEFAP) few years ago, with a view to working out practicable templates and implementable modalities for actualisation of the programme.”
  
He said in countries like the United States, Food Stamp, which is a government-issued coupon given to low-income and non-income persons, has been in use since 1933 to cushion hardships on the poor and less-privileged, as well as low-income earners.
  
Ndume recalled that “at the unveiling of the October 2023 Cadre Harmonisé Analysis on food insecurity, it was projected that in 2024, Nigeria is expected to see about 26.5 million people, grappling with a high level of food insecurity.”
  
He argued that the clamour for wage increase and work support cannot alone guarantee a more effective way of addressing food insecurity without the introduction of a time-tested public assistance programme.
  
Lawmakers, who backed the motion, expressed optimism that the programme would reduce tension across the country.  Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong (Akwa-Ibom State), while describing the initiative as laudable, advised that measures should be put in place to guard against its abuse. Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue State) submitted that there was no better time to devise ways of ensuring food security.

Senator Suleiman Sadiq (Kwara North) stated: “This is so apt, and we should encourage Mr. President.” The Senator representing Ogun West, Solomon Adeola, called for deployment of modern technology to curb abuses.