The  residents of Ikole-Ekiti, on Wednesday, urged Governor Biodun Oyebanji to set up task committee to control prices of food items and curb inflation.

Some of the residents, who spoke with journalists in Ikole-Ekiti, said raw food sellers were taking advantage of the current economy challenges to inflate prices of food items.

One of the indigenes and residents of the town, Amos Ogunjobi, a retired teacher, said the high cost of food in the community had become unaffordable for him.

Mr Ogunjobi expressed concern that many of the food sellers were deliberately inflating prices of vegetables, beans, rice and other food items to make ridiculous profits.

“The cost of food in Ikole-Ekiti has become too expensive for us to afford.

“Many of the food sellers often complain of cost of transportation being the cause of the inflation.

“The association of food sellers is not helping the situation, they control the price locally, thereby making the cost of food unaffordable for us,” he said.

Mr Ogunjobi appealed to the state governor to curb the greedy attitudes and irregular inflation by the association of food sellers.

Another resident, Iyabo Aina, clothes seller, said the cost of food, especially beans and rice have become too expensive for an average income earners to afford.

Ms Aina said she had been experiencing low patronage because her customers preferred saving to buy food than spending money on clothes.

She appealed to Mr Oyebanji to cushion the effect of inflation of food by dissolving all existing food association inflating prices of food in Ekiti.

“It has become very important for our amiable governor, Mr Biodun Oyebanji to eradicate raw food associations that are making cost of food unaffordable for both residents and indigenes of Ekiti.

“I sell clothes, many people do not buy clothes, everyone is saving money to buy food to survive,” she said.

Similarly, Yinka Oladele, a carpenter and Funmilayo Ayayi, a vegetable seller, said the cost of food became too expensive because of increase in transportation.

They urged both federal and state governments to work together to regulate prices of petrol and set up price control policy to curb inflation of food in the markets.

(NAN)