Tinubu Government’s So-Called Drop In Food Prices Caused By More Imports, Not Economic Progress – ADC
Tinubu Government’s So-Called Drop In Food Prices Caused By More Imports, Not Economic Progress – ADC
The ADC coalition accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of manipulating figures to create a false sense of economic progress.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has expressed strong concern over what it described as the Nigerian government’s “misleading narrative around the so-called drop in food prices.”
The ADC coalition accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of manipulating figures to create a false sense of economic progress.
In a statement signed by its spokesperson , Bolaji Abdullahi late Tuesday , the party said, “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.”
According to the ADC, “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 party continued. “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.”
The ADC further faulted the government’s claim that current policies are boosting local agricultural production, describing it as “strange and dishonest.”
“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,” the statement read.
“How can production be increasing when the rural economy is under siege, and the cost of planting is now beyond the reach of the average farmer?”
The party accused the Nigerian government of engaging in “propaganda,” arguing that “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 or deliberate planning,” the ADC said.
The opposition party also challenged the government’s denial that imported food had been released into the market. “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?.”
Concluding, the ADC said, “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.”
