Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has launched a scathing critique against the President Bola Tinubu administration, accusing the federal government of “weaponizing hunger” and using food palliatives as a political tool.
The Chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) argued that the recent public distribution of rice to Northern states is an insult to the dignity of citizens who have been pushed into poverty by failed economic policies.
In a statement released on Friday through his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku characterized the recent flagging off of 100 trucks of rice and N1.2 billion in palliatives by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu as a “calculated political performance.”
He maintained that while the government holds choreographed ceremonies to hand out food, the structural issues causing mass hardship remain ignored.
Atiku noted that the “tragic normalization of poverty” under the current leadership has reached a point where families can no longer afford basic nutrition due to runaway inflation.
Addressing the specific crisis in Northern Nigeria, the former Vice President highlighted that agricultural productivity has collapsed since 2023 because the government has failed to secure farmlands.
He pointed out that many farmers have been displaced by insecurity, yet the administration chooses to distribute “campaign lunch packs” instead of restoring safety to the nation’s food basket.
Atiku further alleged that this strategy of politicizing hunger began as an experiment when the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu, distributed food during last year’s Ramadan, and has now evolved into a standard operating procedure for the presidency.
The former Vice President concluded by asserting that the government’s current approach treats the populace as a project for charity rather than a priority for development. He insisted that the North requires sustainable agricultural policies rather than periodic handouts.
Firmly rejecting the optics of the palliative program, he declared that “Nigerians Are Not Beggars” and should not be expected to survive on symbolic gestures while their livelihoods continue to crumble under the weight of the current economic climate.
In a related development, the First Lady had on Thursday defended the palliative initiative as a necessary intervention to cushion the effects of the current economic reforms.
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