Nigeria Declares a State of Emergency as Food Prices Surge
- Government plans to boost food supply to reduce inflation
- Gasoline subsidy cuts fueling a sharp rise in food costs
Vegetables in storage at a food market in Lagos.
Photographer: Damilola Onafuwa/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Nigeria declared a state of emergency that will allow the government to take exceptional steps to improve food security and supply, as surging prices cause widespread hardship.
The move will trigger a range of measures, including clearing forests for farmland to increase agricultural output and ease food inflation, Dele Alake, a spokesman for President Bola Tinubu, told reporters late Thursday. It follows the president’s removal of fuel subsidies and exchange-rate reform, which has seen the naira fall by 40% after its peg to the dollar was removed last month.