Traders in Ose Okwodu Market in Onitsha, Anambra State, have blamed the rising cost of food items in Nigeria on the insecurity bedeviling the country. The traders stated this through their market leaders on Thursday when the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Council (FCCPC) visited the market for a survey on the cause of the rising cost of food items in the country.

Secretary of Ose Okwodu Market Traders Union, Mr Onyejekwe Cyprian, who represented the chairman of the union, Mr Ikechukwu Umeanozie, during the visit said the market is seen as the food basket of Anambra State and beyond, but lately the cost of items in the market has become unbearable. He attributed this to insecurity, saying that farmers now fear to go to their farms to cultivate crops, and even when they do, they are either abducted when moving crops to urban places to sell, or when coming back.

“These days, traders now go to rural places because farmers who manage to harvest crops fear to transport them by road for fear of kidnapping. Now it is the traders that are suffering because we go to them. Most consumables in Nigeria come down here to this market which serves as a distribution point.

“We receive supplies from all over the country, three times every week. Yams from Benue, grains from Niger, Adamawa and other state, potatoes from diverse places, fish from parts of Anambra here, but today, how many times do supplies come?

“Sometimes, farmers call traders on the phone and tell them there may not be supplies in the near future, that bandits were terrorizing them. In that way, the trader who knows he will not get stock will hike the price of the available ones.

“If government can do something about insecurity, I’m sure farmers will return to farm and traders will not be afraid to transport their goods back for sale.”

Onyejekwe told the South East zonal coordinator of FCCPC, Mr Jude Akonam, that besides insecurity, climate change and cost of transportation were other factors.

Akonam said the reason for the visit was to hear from traders and customers how the rise in prices affect them, with a view to relay the message to the appropriate quarters for action.

Officials of FCCPC who interacted with traders and customers also shared fliers to sensitize them on the role of the Commission. Onuorah said the exercise was a country-wide affair, which is carried out by various zonal offices of the Commission.

Source: Dailypost

Anambra State Police Command in collaboration with the security Joint Task Force, JTF, have recovered three unexploded improvised explosives, two abandoned vehicles, some other dangerous materials from a camp raid in Ihiala.

The State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, confirmed the incident in a statement on Saturday in Onitsha. He said that the joint security forces in a planned and coordinated operation busted a criminal camp amid the security intelligence gathered over time.

The camps which are located in Lilu, Mbosi and Isseke areas of Ihiala Local Government Area of the state, recovered three unexploded improvised explosives. Ikenga noted that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Nnaghe Itam, had charged the operatives to sustain the tempo of the operations.

He stressed that the commissioner further assured the good people of the state, the commitment of the police and other security agencies to continue to dominate and deny the criminal elements of committing havoc in the state. Two abandoned vehicles, some explosives materials like copper wires, fuel and other dangerous materials were recovered,” he said.

Source: Dailypost

He lauded President Bola Tinubu for his continued support to the Service, adding that, “we are determined to restore peace in the country”. The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, says the Federal Government has procured 12 aircraft for the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) in the last year. Abubakar stated this at the Air War Course 10/2024 graduation ceremony of the Air Force War College Nigeria, on Friday in Makurdi.

He said the federal government deployed the newly acquired platforms to the Service between September 2023 and September 2024, adding that the NAF was expecting to take delivery of more platforms in the coming months.He added that the NAF was expecting to take delivery of more aircraft in the coming months.

“In line with the Federal Government’s resolve to adequately equip the Nigerian Air Force for the safe conduct of training and agile airpower employment to meet the nation’s security challenges, it is indeed gladdening to note that, between the last Air War Course graduation in September last year and today, we have taken delivery of 12 new platforms. These include four Diamond 62 surveillance aircraft; two King Air 360 light transport aircraft, 4 x T-129 ATAK helicopters and 2 x Agusta Westland 109 Trekker.

“Moving forward, the NAF is poised to take delivery of 24 x M-346 fighter aircraft6 and 10 additional Agusta Westland 109 Trekker helicopters from Italy. Others are 3 x CASA 295 transport aircraft from Spain and 12 x AH-1Z Vipper helicopters from the United States,” he said. The CAS further said the Air Force, in collaboration with other sister agencies, has the capacity to address diverse security challenges in the country.

Source: Dailypost