Mallam Bolaji
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticized the federal government’s claim of increased local production of food as dishonest, given that many farmers, especially in the northern part of the country, have been displaced by banditry, while those that remained active could not afford the skyrocketing cost of fertilisers and other critical inputs. In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party questioned the rationale behind hoarding imported food while millions go hungry, calling it a deliberate weaponisation of poverty for political gains. The party urged a complete overhaul of the country’s agricultural strategy, calling for policies that protect local production, promote food price stability, protect the lives of farmers, and pursue long-term food sovereignty.
The full statement read:
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) is deeply concerned by the Federal Government’s misleading narrative around the so-called drop in food prices. Contrary to what is being celebrated in official circles, the reality on the ground, as confirmed by the voices of struggling farmers and families across the country, is that the Tinubu government is manipulating food prices and weaponising hunger for political gains.
The reported drop in the prices of some food items is artificial, and a result of import waivers that have flooded the market with cheap foreign food. It is neither evidence of sound policy nor proof of increased local production. And while that may offer momentary relief in food prices, it has, and will, come at the heavy cost of sabotaging local farmers who can no longer compete due to soaring input costs, especially fertilisers, and worsening insecurity.
Additionally, we find it particularly strange and dishonest for the government to claim that its policies are encouraging domestic production at a time when many farmers have been displaced by bandits, and those who remain are barely able to afford the cost of planting. How can production be increasing when the rural economy is under siege by bandits, and the costs of planting are now beyond the reach of the average farmer?
This is propaganda. What we are witnessing is a deliberate manipulation of food prices for short-term political gain, designed to create the illusion of economic progress while citizens continue to suffer. Any current drop in price is temporary, unsustainable, and driven by panic, not strategy, and deliberate planning.
We also take note of the government’s claim that it has not released imported food into the market. If we are to even momentarily entertain this falsehood, it begs an even more damning question: why is the government hoarding food while the people go hungry? What sort of administration stores food in warehouses during a hunger crisis?
The ADC condemns in the strongest terms the weaponisation of hunger and calls for a complete overhaul of the current agricultural approach. We must protect local producers, address rural insecurity, and invest in long-term food sovereignty, not temporary political optics.
The Nigerian people deserve truth and food, not manipulation and a false narrative of renewed hope.
Signed: Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi; National Publicity SecretaryAfrican Democratic Congress (ADC)
- Photo credit: Arise TV
