The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration of "weaponising hunger" and "manipulating food prices" to score political points amid worsening hardship across the country.
In a statement issued on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC alleged that the Federal Government’s recent claims of increased food production and falling prices were misleading and detached from the harsh realities faced by millions of Nigerians.
According to the party, "the reported drop in food prices" was artificial and driven by import waivers that have flooded the market with cheap foreign goods, undermining local farmers who are already struggling with insecurity and high production costs.
"The Tinubu government is manipulating food prices and weaponising hunger for political gains. What we are witnessing is a deliberate effort to create the illusion of economic progress while citizens continue to suffer," the statement read in part.
The opposition party criticised what it described as the government’s "dishonest propaganda" about food sufficiency, pointing out that many farmers in the northern states have abandoned their farms due to banditry, while those still in operation are unable to afford fertilisers and other critical inputs.
"It is particularly dishonest for the government to claim that domestic production is rising when the rural economy is under siege and the cost of planting is now beyond the reach of the average farmer," the party said.
The ADC also questioned why imported food was being stored in warehouses while citizens face hunger, describing the act as "a deliberate weaponisation of poverty."
"If we are to believe that the government has not released imported food into the market, then why hoard it when millions go hungry? What sort of administration stores food during a hunger crisis?" the statement queried.
The party called for a complete overhaul of Nigeria’s agricultural policy, urging the government to focus on protecting local producers, stabilising prices, tackling rural insecurity, and pursuing food sovereignty rather than "temporary political optics."
"The Nigerian people deserve truth and food, not manipulation and a false narrative of renewed hope," the ADC said.
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