Disabled Rights Group Urges Govt to Tackle Hunger

By Femi Ogbonnikan

Disabled persons, under the aegis of the ‘Movement for Disable Rights’, have admonished the governments both at the state and federal levels to urgently tackle the rising hunger caused by the increasing prices of consumables items.

In a press release signed and issued by the Lagos State coordinator, Mr. Kehinde Oshilaja, the group said the rising costs of consumable items are biting hard on the citizenry and therefore, urged the government, especially the Federal Government to tackle the economy, saying “every day, prices of foodstuffs are increasing, our people are starving and more beggars have taken to the streets.

“2019 general elections are approaching. Whatever economic policies the APC- government put in place to lessen the burdens of the masses, will be determinants of the voting patterns. Nigerians are wiser than 2015 when they voted enmasse for the APC into power. Any policy you initiate and implement, whether good or bad, Nigerians will have a rethink either to vote in or out the current ruling party in 2019”, said Oshilaja.

Besides, the group expressed appreciation for the federal government efforts in its crusade against corruption at all levels of governments.

“We want to use this medium to advise the federal government to spend parts of the recovered loots for the needy, especially the disabled. We want to implore the local governments to get the lists of the youths, our elders, and people living with disabilities within their domains, so that they can benefit from the largesse”, said the group.

Meanwhile, the group also implored the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, being an architect of change that brought the APC to central power, not to leave the party, and to continue to give his support for President Muhammadu Buhari in administering the nation.

It also extolled the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos state for making lives easier for Lagosians, with the recent Yuletide sales of LAKE (Lagos-Kebbi) rice at affordable prices.

“Many people were happy during and after the Christmas and New Year festivities for the availability of the rice in the state. And this has brought about a reduction in the price of imported rice in the country. It has also stopped scarcity of the product in the state”, stated the coordinator.

The group further enjoined all states in the federation, especially those states in the South-west region to take a cue from Lagos and Kebbi states’ collaboration, to go into agricultural produce, in order to boost foods supply and ameliorate hunger in the land.

“The collaboration of Lagos and Kebbi states respectively in the area of rice production is a good example. We wish other states in the federation, especially those in the South-west, with the active support of traditional rulers, would come together and engage in cultivation of agricultural produce, in order to reduce poverty in the land”, concluded the group.

The federal government has tried to prioritise agriculture in Nigeria, as a panacea to discourage importation and also to provide an alternative to dwindling crude oil revenue. Around 14 states are currently producing different rice varieties across the country also.