Sanwo-Olu urges agro firms to reduce food prices

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has called on agro-food companies to collaborate with the government to bring down the cost of food in the state.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the governor made the call while receiving the senior management team of Olam Agri Nigeria Ltd., led by the Managing Director, Anil Nair, who were on a courtesy visit to the Lagos State House Marina on Thursday.

“There is no better security these days than food. Today being the first day of August, you can see in the streets in Nigeria, there’s some sort of hunger protest.

“How I wish that you and I, after this meeting, will make a broadcast that food prices have gone down by 25 per cent; it will be great news for both of us.

“That speaks to the reason why we chose to listen and hear and be able to work together. You are in a strategic position and you have that structure and that capacity,” he said.

The governor said Olam remained a strategic brand that had caused a great turnaround in Lagos State.

He recalled his days as a banker, saying that Olam was an account that everybody usually wanted to have.

Sanwo-Olu said everyone wanted Olam’s account for the simple reason that they are fast-growing, aggressive, and are an industry that had cheques to deposit daily.

“It wasn’t a company where you need to wait 90 days or 100 days for their cheques. Bankers would hang around their offices, and as the sales were going on, they were just picking the cheques.

“So, for us, as a government, we watch that growth. I know you must have gone through your challenges along the line, either government policies that have somersaulted or some of your good plans but you stayed the course,” Sanwo-Olu said.

He urged the brand to consider its longstanding relationship with the state and forge a partnership with the state by looking beyond the current economic situation and leveraging it.

Sanwo-Olu called for a sustainable partnership, saying: “At a difficult time like this, it shouldn’t be only the government reducing cost or that is attempting to have a corner store in the market to buy and sell at reduced prices.

“You must be able to tell your shareholders that you’ve been in this environment for such a long time and that it should not be about profit-making.

“You should be willing to say let’s even go into this market and just cover our cost, let’s pass on, let the people feel our critical support.

“If we go by our Return on Investment, we should be selling this thing at N5,000 but because we are committed and we have also made decent returns in this environment, we are able to say we will sell lower,” he said.

Nair commended the Sanwo-Olu-led administration for its commitment to empowering its citizens and catering to residents’ needs.