Photos: Katsina Emir, Residents Turn To Prayer As Rain Drought Hits Day 16

The Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumini Usman, led a large congregation in rain-seeking prayers amid a prolonged dry spell now in its 16th day.

The prayers, conducted at the Eid Prayer Ground Mosque around 8:00 am, on Tuesday, were overseen by Imam Gambo Mustapha, the Chief Imam of the Katsina Central Mosque.

The community came together in hopes of invoking divine intervention for a good harvest, economic relief, lower food prices, and improved security across the state.

Malam Abdurrahman Bature, one of the attendees, stressed the urgency of the situation, noting that crops desperately need water to thrive amidst skyrocketing food prices.

He urged the community to live righteously and called on leaders to act with integrity towards their constituents.

Bature also linked the shortage of rainfall to societal issues, including the unnecessary killing of innocent people and general misconduct.

This spiritual response comes as Nigeria grapples with soaring living costs and a food inflation rate of nearly 40 percent.

See photos below:

CPPE Urges FG To Implement Fiscal Policies To Boost Agriculture, Control Inflation

Meanwhile, the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has called on the federal government to implement fiscal policies aimed at controlling food inflation and boosting production in the agricultural sector.

Fiscal policy involves the use of government spending and tax policies to influence macroeconomic conditions, such as aggregate demand, employment, and inflation.

The Chief Executive Officer of CPPE, Muda Yusuf, emphasized the critical role of fiscal policy in addressing economic challenges and fostering growth in the agricultural sector.

He stated, “Fiscal policy measures have much better prospects of addressing supply-side challenges in the economy if well targeted.

“Boosting production is essential to fixing the current inflationary pressures, which are largely driven by supply-side challenges in the economy. Fiscal policy measures are potent tools for achieving this objective.”

Yusuf recommended that similar fiscal policies be applied to other segments of the real sector to enhance production.

He stressed the need for executive orders to support agriculture, agrochemicals, and agro-allied industries to curb the rising food inflation.