The House of Representatives has urged the Federal Government to address the rising cost of living in the country, to tackle the hardship being faced by Nigerians.
This followed the adoption of a motion by Rep. Isiaka Ibrahim (APC-Ogun) at plenary in Abuja on Tuesday.
Moving In the motion titled “Urgent Intervention on Reducing Cost of Living”, Mr Ibrahim said that the rising cost of living in the country was unbearable.
He said that the impact was deadly on individuals and families, adding that there was an urgent need for government’s intervention to bring down the cost of living.
He said that the skyrocketing cost of housing, food, healthcare, and education had led to increasing hardship in the country.
“The current inflation has eroded the purchasing power of individuals with higher prices for goods and services.
“Stagnant wages and limited job opportunities have also further exacerbated the financial strain on individuals and families, making it increasingly difficult to make ends meet,” he said.
He said that the impact of rising costs of living was particularly severe for low-income groups, who had been forced to make difficult choices between basic necessities.
He said the financial burden had also led to increased stress and anxiety, contributing to a decline in the overall well-being of Nigerian.
Contributing, Rep. Ahmed Jaha (APC-Borno) said, “If we as lawmakers are comfortable in our comfortable zone, we should understand that our constituents are not and so we are sitting on a time bomb.
“We don’t need soothsayers to tell you that people are hungry; there must be a patriotic measure to bring back this country.
“The cost of staple food has increased by almost 500 percent. We have an issue in Nigeria with capital inflow to our country, particularly the diaspora.
“There must be a conducive environment created by the government to encourage investors, and this will be possible when we have security in place.”
Rep. Kingsley Chinda (PDP-Rivers) said, “With what we are facing in Nigeria today, can we truly say the welfare of the people is the priority of the government?
He said a lot still needed to be done because the people were living in penury.
“Our duty is to bring joy to Nigerians, as some of us find it difficult to go home because of the current challenges.
“We must assist the security agencies to improve the situation in the country; the motion is a wake-up call for us. Let us not look at it from the angle of partisan politics.”
Adopting the motion, the House appealed to the federal government to distribute food from the national food reserve to Nigerians to cushion the effects on the current food inflation.
The House urged that poultry products, meats, beverages, healthcare products, and pharmaceutical products be imported from the top exporting countries in the world as a short-term measure.
The House also called for increased food production and improved distribution by ensuring adequate access to fertilizers and crop diversification.