High food prices: Kano warns stores against hoarding foodstuffs

Amid growing concerns over high cost of commodities, Kano State Public Complaint and Anticorruption Commission, PCACC, yesterday threatened to clamp down on warehouses or stores engaged in hoarding of foodstuff to compound the untold hardship faced by the people.

Chairman of the commission, Bar. Muhuyi Rimingado, who disclosed this at a briefing in Kano, said the commission has ignited intelligence mechanism on the matter and would clamp down on the warehouses and stores before the month of Ramadan.

He called on the people to assist the commission with useful information that would lead to identifying the warehouses or stores.

He said: “With the advent of Ramadan, we are not going to fold our arms as we are going to swing into action. We are not going to watch people take advantage of the situation by engaging in hoarding and compounding the situation.

“We are asking people with useful information to come forward with them to help the commission identify warehouses or stores where hoarding is taking place. The commission will be glad with such genuine information and will protect the identity of such person.

“I believe there is a problem of inflation which is one of the genesis of hardship but hoarding too also contributed. And we will not allow it.

“To even hoard and take advantage of the people is undue influence and that is part of corruption. We are overwhelmed, this is the most essential part of our job.

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“The Kano State government is worried over the situation. The situation is unbearable, people are hungry. A hungry man is an angry man.

“We are appealing to the traders that if they know they hoard the food stuffs to take advantage of the situation, they should bring out to the market because we will not allow it.

“If we find essential commodities that were hoard, we have three options. One of the options is to lock down the store, seize the property and take the matter to court. And the court in its wisdom will tell us what to do with the property. And that is a set back to owner because we have confiscated the property and it can get spoilt.”