Food Price Drop Artificial, Farmers Sinking Under Insecurity – ADC Slams FG

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Federal Government of weaponising poverty and manipulating hunger for political gain.

The party, in a statement issued on Tuesday by its spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, dismissed claims by the administration of President Bola Tinubu that food prices had declined as a result of increased local production.

The ADC said it was alarmed by what it described as 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 struggling farmers and families across the country, is that the Tinubu government is manipulating food prices and weaponising hunger for political gain,” Abdullahi said.

According to the opposition party, the reported decline in food prices is not a reflection of sound agricultural policy but the result of import waivers that have allowed cheap foreign food items to flood the Nigerian market.

“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,” the ADC said.

“And while that may offer momentary relief, it has come, 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.”

‘Drop in Prices Unsustainable’

The ADC also faulted government’s assurances of increased domestic output, insisting that worsening insecurity and banditry in parts of the country have crippled genuine agricultural progress.

“Any current drop in price is temporary, unsustainable, and driven by panic, not strategy or deliberate planning. 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,” the statement added.

‘Why Hoard Food in a Hunger Crisis?’

The party further criticised claims that government had not released imported food into the market, questioning why food stocks would be kept while millions of Nigerians go hungry.

“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?” it queried.

The ADC, in its closing remarks, condemned “the weaponisation of hunger” and called for a complete overhaul of the country’s agricultural approach.

“The ADC condemns, in the strongest terms, the weaponisation of hunger and calls for a complete overhaul of the current agricultural approach,” Abdullahi stated.