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Nigerian Authorities Voice Worry as Rising Cost of Living Sparks Protests
Finance Minister Olawale Edun said the government will try to bring down prices by increasing agricultural production
www.voanews.com
ABUJA, NIGERIA — Nigerian authorities say they are worried after hundreds of people took to the streets of central Niger state and northwest Kano state Monday to protest the rising cost of food.
Finance Minister Olawale Edun, speaking in Abuja on Monday during a meeting with a visiting German delegation, said the government is concerned about the surge in prices and working to fix the problem.
He blamed the recent increase in food prices on rising demand, saying the only way to address the situation is to boost agricultural production.
"The president has intervened in that sector to provide grain, fertilizers to farmers and to bring rice, wheat, maize, and cassava under additional acreage, additional production in order to increase the output and thereby bring down prices and that will help bring down the inflation," Edun said.
Police authorities in the Niger state capital, Minna, said they dispersed the protesters using "minimum force," but the demonstrators threatened to reconvene.