The Katsina State Government, on Sunday, unveiled a 27-man task force to address the rising cost of foodstuffs in the state.

The task force, chaired by the Chief of Staff, Government House, Alhaji Jabiru Tsauri, will, among other, tackle food hoarding in the state.

The Director of Press at the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Abdullahi  Yar’adua, made this known in a statement on Sunday.

According to the statement, the function of the task force included: “To Identify food commodity hoarders within the state; engage with stakeholders on food prices in the state; in collaboration with security agencies, arrest and prosecute violators of this order; control the buying and transporting of food commodities within and outside the state, including international borders.”

The statement added that the committee is expected to be inaugurated on Wednesday at the Council’s Chamber, Government House, Katsina.

The PUNCH  recalls that Governor Dikko Radda on Friday approved a task force to ensure strict compliance with the Food Security (Promotion) Order prohibiting the hoarding of food and essential commodities within the state.

Meanwhile, a chieftain of the All Progressives in Osun State, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has advised President Bola Tinubu to raise a task force that will monitor the distribution of grains he recently approved for release from the strategic reserve.

Oyintiloye, who spoke to journalists in Osogbo on Sunday, said monitoring the distribution had become necessary in order to ensure that the food items were not diverted.

He said, “If the President wants poor Nigerians to feel the impact of the released grains, a special task force should be constituted to ensure effective distribution. It will be a great disservice to the country and to the efforts of the President if the good gesture of the released grains is allowed to be hijacked by private individuals.”

Culled from PUNCH