In the spirit of Eid El-Adha, President Muhammadu Buhari has rejoiced with all Muslims in Nigeria and around the world, stating that these celebrations are taking place amidst the pandemic that has taken a heavy toll on the economies of all countries, including Nigeria. He said that this is in addition to the floods that have caused large scale destruction to agricultural farmlands, which has resulted into negative impact on his administration's efforts to boost local production in line with their policy to drastically reduce food importation. According to him, These unfortunate circumstances have led to food inflation, which our government is working very hard to address. No government in our recent history has invested as heavily as we are doing to promote local production of about 20 other commodities, through the provision of loans and several other forms of support to our farmers. Apart from the destruction caused to rice farms by floods, middlemen have also taken advantage of the local rice production to exploit fellow Nigerians, thereby undermining our goal of supporting local food production at affordable prices. President Buhari stated that his administration is working tirelessly to bring relief to Nigerians, including making fertilizer available at affordable prices to farmers. Speaking on insecurity in the country, He noted that it has produced severe and adverse effects on agriculture due to farmers not being able to access their farms because of the fear of bandits and terrorists, saying, Let me use this opportunity to reassure Nigerians that we are taking measures to address our security challenges. We have started taking delivery of fighter aircraft and other necessary military equipment and hardware to improve the capacity of our security forces to confront terrorism and banditry. The President called on Muslims in the country to demonstrate the good virtues of Islam through personal examples and practices, stressing that taking advantage of the celebration to exploit fellow citizens through outrageous prices of food and rams is inconsistent with the fine virtues of Islam. He said, As practising believers, we shouldn't seek obscene profits by making life difficult and miserable for others. We should not seek happiness at the expense of others. Remember that Islam is a religion of charity that urges us to love our neighbour as we love ourselves. I urge all Muslims to continue to live in peace and harmony with their fellow Nigerians of other faiths in the spirit of peaceful coexistence. Let us pray for the progress of Nigeria at all times. Let us expose undesirable elements among us who are creating security problems for the country.
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