The African Democratic Congress has accused the Federal Government of worsening Nigeria’s food insecurity, alleging that more than 17 million Nigerians are facing acute hunger due to insecurity and economic policies under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The party made the claim in a statement issued on Sunday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, following a report by the United Nations World Food Programme indicating that over 17 million people across nine conflict-affected northern states are experiencing severe food insecurity.
According to the ADC, the situation is the result of insecurity, attacks on farming communities, mass displacement, restricted humanitarian access and rising food inflation.
The party described the development as a “government-created humanitarian disaster,” accusing the administration of failing to protect lives, secure farming communities and address the country’s rising cost of living.
It noted that the latest figures represented an increase from previous projections, adding that millions of people in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states were among those worst affected.
The opposition party argued that the country’s food crisis required a comprehensive national strategy that prioritised food security as part of national security and economic planning.
According to the statement, an ADC-led government would place food security on the agenda of the National Security Council while coordinating interventions across the federal, state and local governments.
The party also pledged to prioritise investments in smallholder farming through improved agricultural inputs, mechanisation, extension services and better market access to boost food production.
It further promised to rehabilitate the country’s 264 abandoned dams to support irrigation farming, expand agricultural productivity and reduce dependence on seasonal rainfall.
The ADC added that it would invest in storage facilities, aggregation centres, cold-chain infrastructure and strategic grain reserves to reduce post-harvest losses, stabilise food prices and improve food security.
The party maintained that insecurity, unemployment and food inflation were interconnected challenges that required effective governance and sustained policy implementation to address.
