The Gombe State Governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, has announced further subsidy on the price of fertilizer to N15,000 per bag, against the initial price of 19 thousand naira per bag.
The governor made the announcement in a statement issued by the Secretary to the Gombe State Government, Professor Ibrahim Abubakar Njodi, in which he said the move was to alleviate the biting effects of the removal of fuel subsidy and its consequential economic impact.
He also said the development was in line with the advisory from the National Economic Council, which urged states to design independent responses to the subsidy removal and also come up with strategies to help boost food production in the State.
Sell to farmers
The statement directed all state-owned fertilizer selling points/agents across the 11 local government areas to immediately comply with the directive while explaining that the sales and distribution committee should strictly sell to farmers only as a palliative.
It will be recalled that Governor Yahaya had on June 19, 2023, flagged off the sales of fertilizer and other farm inputs in Gombe State with 166 Truck-loads of the commodity at the subsidized rate of 19,000 naira per bag as against the market price of 26,000 naira.
The Gombe State Governor had also inaugurated a committee to ensure seamless sales and distribution of the fertilizer in the 114 wards across the 11 Local Government Areas of the State to ensure that the commodity reached the common farmers.
Bring succour
The governor set up a committee that went round all the LGAs and distributed foodstuff to the most vulnerable among the residents, the bottom poor, as his personal support to bring succour to them.
The government said it was putting machinery in motion to embark on a full-scale palliative distribution.
In the area of public transport, Governor Yahaya had earlier directed the state-owned transport company, the Gombe Line, to put measures in place to ensure that residents are able to travel without much financial burden.
The company has continued to maintain a functional fleet providing subsidized and effective transport services to cushion the effects of fuel subsidy removal, and also ensure comfort and safety of passengers.
Lateefah Ibrahim
