After several weeks of expectation, President Bola Tinubu has suspended payment of tariffs on imported grains and its semi-finished foods into Nigeria for five months.
The Nigerian Economy reports that this is the latest effort by the Tinubu administration to curb unprecedented assailing inflation in Africa’s most populous country.
Tinubu had plunged Nigeria into an unabated hyperinflation since June 2023 since he became the country’s president after he announced removal of government subsidy on premium motor spirit (PMS) popularly known as fuel. Since then, cost of transportation, food and other services have gone up by at least 1,000% on the average and there does not seem to be an end to the inflation in the country soon.
But yesterday the Federal Government announced suspension of import duties on foods such as rice, maize, wheat and their semi-finished products imported through sea and land. The foods are major staple foods for Nigerians after the locally produced garri.