President Bola Tinubu’s government has directed civil servants at the ministry of agriculture to observe mandatory prayer and fasting within three weeks as part of spiritual exercise to tackle food insecurity in the country.

The ministry of agriculture and food safety issued the directive in a circular dated June 11 sent to its board members and staff, inviting them to participate in prayer sessions against nationwide hunger.

The weekly spiritual programme has been scheduled to hold every Monday for the rest of the month.

The circular noted, “This is to invite all staff of the federal ministry of agriculture and food security to a solemn prayer session for God’s guidance and success in supporting the government’s efforts to achieve food security. The prayers will hold at Conference Hall ‘B’ of the FMAFS headquarters in Area 11, Garki, Abuja, from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. on June 16, June 23 and June 30.’’

According to the circular, staff are expected to show up at work fasting on the selected dates, starting from next Monday through to the remainder of June.

Many Nigerians have been plunged into acute hunger in the past two years after harsh economic policies by President Bola Tinubu caused a significant hike in food prices across the country.

Under Mr Tinubu’s administration, attacks on farms continued to increase, with farmers often forced by terrorists to abandon their lands, causing nationwide food shortages.