COVID-19: We can’t influence commodity prices – AbdulRazaq
The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Monday says the government cannot control prices of commodities in the state.
The Governor speaking during a virtual meeting with Civil Society Organizations in the state, agreed with price control but stated that it is difficult for state governments to implement it.
He said, “There are some issues which are beyond our control, like the issue of price control. Nigeria is a capitalist market economy. It will be extremely difficult to control prices at the markets, it will only create a secondary black market for people to operate. We know how NNPC has been battling with the price of petrol for years where black markets are created. It will be difficult for state government to control prices. The Federal Government has the tools to control prices like they control inflation and exchange rate, better than what a state government can do.
“On that, yes, we feel and do agree that there should be a price control. Let me give you examples, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that used to go between 200 and 500 naira is going for between 10,000 -20,000 naira now for a piece and you must use it only once. Ventilators used to go for 5-6 million, they now go for between 20 – 30 million now”.
He added, “We have discussed it at the Governor’s forum that there should be a price control and mechanism that will forestall inflation, especially basic commodities and foods. But, we are not shutting the doors on that. We are still going to look for ways in which to mitigate the effect, especially getting food directly from the farmers to the markets”.
AbdulRazaq was responding to a May 1 solicited advisory letter of the CSOs on the need to monitor and control the price of commodities and services in the State.
