Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South has thrown his support behind President Bola Tinubu’s renewed declaration of a national emergency on food security, saying the initiative will help reduce soaring food prices across the country.

Reacting to the president’s statement—delivered on Monday by Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume—Ndume described the move as a crucial step in addressing Nigeria’s food crisis. He commended the administration’s emphasis on irrigation and participatory water resource management, which he said are vital for ramping up agricultural output.

President Tinubu made the declaration while inaugurating the 6th African Regional Conference on Irrigation and Drainage in Abuja. He highlighted the country’s vast agricultural potential, noting that Nigeria has over 3.1 million hectares of irrigable land, particularly around the Niger and Benue river basins.

Ndume called the president’s focus on agriculture timely. “Giving the needed impetus to food production would go a long way in bringing down the prices of farm produce in the market,” he said.

The senator also proposed the creation of a Department of Government Efficiency, which would be supervised directly by the SGF’s office. He said this would ensure better enforcement of budget implementation and greater policy adherence across ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).

Citing the proactive approach of Borno State Governor Babagana Zulum—who earlier declared a food emergency and distributed tractors, irrigation tools, and subsidised fertilisers—Ndume urged other governors to adopt similar strategies to support farmers.

He further appealed to President Tinubu to extend emergency declarations to national security and the economy, stressing the need to combat inflation and stabilise the naira.

“The federal government must pay attention to the rate of inflation and bring it down. It must also ensure the stability of the naira against the greenback, since we are an import-dependent country,” Ndume said.

To ease pressure on the naira, the senator suggested that Nigeria explore BRICS trade mechanisms and increase its use of the Chinese yuan as an alternative to the U.S. dollar.