The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of failing to tackle the worsening hunger crisis in the country, saying millions of Nigerians are now facing starvation because of insecurity, rising food prices and what it described as poor government policies.
The opposition party made the allegation while reacting to a recent report by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), which warned that more than 17 million Nigerians across nine conflict-affected northern states are experiencing acute food insecurity.
ADC National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, said the report showed that Nigeria was facing one of its worst humanitarian crises in recent years, blaming the development on what he described as the Federal Government’s inability to secure farming communities and improve the economy.
In a statement issued on Monday, Abdullahi said the WFP findings confirmed what many Nigerians had been complaining about for months, insisting that the worsening hunger situation was largely the result of government failures rather than unavoidable circumstances.
According to him, millions of Nigerians are struggling to feed themselves because agricultural production has continued to decline while the cost of food keeps rising.
“The African Democratic Congress has received with profound concern the latest assessment by the United Nations World Food Programme, which confirms that Nigeria is now facing one of its worst food security emergencies in almost a decade,” the statement said.
Quoting the WFP report, the ADC said more than 17 million Nigerians in nine northern states affected by conflict are facing crisis, emergency or catastrophic levels of food insecurity.
The party noted that the figure represents an increase of almost two million people compared to earlier projections.
It added that Borno State alone accounts for more than three million people facing acute hunger, while the combined total for Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states has reached about 6.2 million.
Abdullahi stressed that the figures were not produced by politicians or opposition parties but by the United Nations agency responsible for tackling global hunger.
“These are not opposition figures. They are not campaign slogans. They are the findings of the world’s leading humanitarian agency on hunger,” he said.
According to the ADC spokesman, the growing food crisis is a direct consequence of insecurity, especially banditry and terrorism, which have forced many farmers to abandon their farms.
He argued that the inability of the government to restore security in farming communities has significantly reduced food production across several parts of northern Nigeria.
The party also blamed the rising cost of living on the Federal Government’s economic policies, saying millions of Nigerians can no longer afford basic food items.
It described the situation as a “government-created humanitarian disaster” and accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of failing to address the country’s worsening economic challenges.
“The hunger confronting millions of Nigerians today is not a natural disaster. It is an APC-inspired government-created humanitarian disaster,” the statement added.
The ADC further alleged that the Federal Government had shown “cruel indifference” to the suffering of ordinary Nigerians by failing to take decisive steps to improve security and reduce the rising cost of food.
According to the opposition party, the administration has repeatedly assured Nigerians that the economic hardship caused by its reforms would be temporary, but many citizens are yet to experience any meaningful improvement in their living conditions.
“For three years, the Tinubu government has repeatedly told Nigerians that the pain we are experiencing is temporary. The WFP has now confirmed what Nigerians have been saying all along: insecurity is spreading, agricultural production is declining, food inflation is worsening and millions of Nigerians are being pushed deeper into hunger,” Abdullahi stated.
The latest criticism comes amid continued public concern over the high cost of food and other essential commodities across the country.
Since the removal of fuel subsidy in May 2023 and the unification of the foreign exchange market, prices of food items, transportation and household goods have risen sharply, putting pressure on many families.
The Federal Government has maintained that the reforms were necessary to stabilise the economy, attract investment and lay the foundation for long-term growth.
Government officials have also announced several intervention programmes aimed at reducing the impact of the economic reforms, including the distribution of grains, support for farmers, cash transfers to vulnerable households and various agricultural initiatives designed to boost local food production.
However, opposition parties and labour unions have repeatedly argued that the measures have not been sufficient to cushion the hardship faced by millions of Nigerians.
In recent months, farmers’ associations have also expressed concern over persistent attacks by bandits, terrorists and kidnappers in parts of the North Central and North East, warning that insecurity continues to affect farming activities and food production.
Humanitarian agencies have similarly warned that conflict, displacement, climate-related challenges and rising inflation are worsening food insecurity in several parts of the country, particularly in communities affected by insurgency.
The World Food Program has consistently appealed for increased humanitarian support for vulnerable populations in Nigeria, especially internally displaced persons and communities affected by armed conflict.
As of the time of filing this report, the Presidency had not issued an official response to the ADC’s latest statement.
The exchange is the latest in a series of political disagreements between the ruling APC and opposition parties over the state of the economy and the welfare of Nigerians.