Peter Obi, the presidential candidate for the 2027 Nigeria Democratic Congress, has rebuked President Bola Tinubu regarding recent statements made about hunger in the country. Obi expressed that the current economic decline cannot be minimized by claiming that food scarcity is a historical norm.
This critique followed a meeting between President Tinubu and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa, where the President suggested that hunger predated his own life. Obi deemed these words callous, arguing that the government should prioritize present conditions and the effects of its current policies over historical context.
Highlighting alarming statistics, the former Anambra State governor noted that acute food insecurity has jumped from 17 million to 35 million people since 2023. Additionally, he stated that the number of citizens in extreme poverty has climbed from 87 million to 140 million, placing Nigeria at the top of the global list for extreme poverty.
Obi contended that effective governance is defined by how challenges are addressed rather than just acknowledging the difficulties inherited by an administration. He attributed the ongoing hardship to factors like fiscal mismanagement, insecurity, and excessive public spending. He concluded by calling on the government to focus on critical sectors such as healthcare, education, and agriculture to stimulate economic recovery.
