The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has attributed the rising cost of food and livestock transportation across the country to illegal checkpoints, multiple taxation, and poor infrastructure.
This was disclosed in a communiqué issued at the end of the Forum’s third meeting for 2025, held on Wednesday night in Abuja. The document was read to journalists by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State.
According to the NGF, the situation has significantly contributed to food price inflation and inefficiencies in the country’s supply chain. The Forum’s assessment was based on a detailed briefing by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who attended the meeting alongside the ministers of defence, agriculture, livestock development, and transportation.
The federal delegation presented findings linking unauthorised roadblocks and extortion along transportation corridors to the high cost of moving goods, particularly food and livestock, across states.
“The security and economic implications of food inflation are too grave to ignore,” Governor Sanwo-Olu stated. “We are committed to supporting collaborative efforts that will remove barriers to the efficient movement of goods across the country.”
He added that the governors unanimously welcomed the recommendations of an already established inter-ministerial committee to address the problem, and pledged to work with federal authorities to streamline levies and dismantle illegal roadblocks.
The Forum also discussed the progress of the Nigeria Community Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (NG-CARES) programme, a World Bank-supported intervention. The Bank reported that over $2.2 billion had been invested through the NG-CARES platform, reaching more than 17 million direct beneficiaries nationwide.
However, the governors expressed concern over delays in the release of pledged funds for NG-CARES 1.0, urging that all outstanding financial commitments be resolved before the rollout of the second phase, NG-CARES 2.0.
The NGF, chaired by Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, reaffirmed its commitment to addressing economic pressures and ensuring that social intervention programmes benefit vulnerable citizens and small businesses across the federation.
