…Directs committee to expedite process

By Michael Ofulue, Osogbo

Ahead of the planned nationwide protest on August 1, the Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has taken measures to reduce the prices of foodstuff in the state.

The Governor said he supports the traditional approach to food price control introduced by some traditional rulers in the state, describing it as “a local innovation to lower increasing food inflation across the state.”

In a statement issued on Friday by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, the governor tasked the State Food Security Implementation Committee to expedite the process to ensure the realization of a secure and accessible food supply value chain in Osun State.

According to the statement, Adeleke expressed happiness that traditional rulers in the state have acted to regulate food prices and curtail the negative activities of middlemen in the marketplaces, directing other monarchs to take the same steps in their domains.

Condemning the artificial inflation induced by market middlemen, Adeleke lauded the traditional rulers under the chairmanship of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, for abolishing strange market associations that induced high food prices. The actions of most members of the Osun State Council of Traditional Rulers on price control, according to him, have assisted the government in its quest to address food insecurity in the state.

He praised the traditional rulers for impressing on market leaders the need to avoid unnecessary price increases, calling on all other traditional rulers in Osun State to emulate the actions of royal fathers in Ile Ife, Ede, Igbajo, Iwo, and others.

“I task our royal fathers to engage market associations and stop the exploitation of our people. I read the report of the initiative by the Ooni of Ife. I also read of similar actions by the Oluwo of Iwoland and Timi of Ede Land. This approach should be adopted by all royal fathers.

“I am also directing my Special Adviser on Markets to move quickly to support our royal fathers in this new drive to institute traditional price control. The Iyalojas and Babalojas should be integrated into the implementation process,” the governor directed.

He tasked the Food Security Implementation Committee to quickly come up with actionable plans, deliverables, and timelines, noting that food security is a matter demanding urgent attention.

“The Committee is composed of tested experts. It is time for action. We already have a well-thought-out food security report. We only need a roadmap to execution.

“I commend the Commissioner for Agriculture for rising to the occasion on our agro-industrialisation agenda. We have started with the supply of tractors, which I will be unveiling at a ceremony soon. We have embraced traditional price control through our traditional rulers.

“We must implement a holistic agenda that addresses all segments of the agricultural value chains. That is what we have in our Food Security Committee report, and the actualization is what I demand from the implementation committee,” he declared.