By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – Presidential candidate of Nigeria Deocratic Party (NDP), Peter Obi has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his recent remarks that hunger had always existed in Nigeria, saying such a statement fails to reflect the severity of the country’s worsening economic and humanitarian crisis.
In a statement issued on Friday via his X handle, Obi said he watched with “deep concern” the President’s comments made during a meeting with Catholic bishops at the Presidential Villa, arguing that while hunger had existed in Nigeria for decades, the current administration should be judged by its ability to reduce, rather than worsen, the suffering of citizens.
According to Obi, the issue is not whether hunger existed before the present administration but whether the government has succeeded in improving the lives of Nigerians since assuming office in May 2023.
He noted that before the Tinubu administration came into office, an estimated 17 million Nigerians were facing acute food insecurity, largely due to insecurity, armed conflict, banditry and devastating floods. He claimed that the figure has now risen to about 35 million people in less than three years, describing the development as evidence that the food crisis has deteriorated.
The former Anambra State governor also expressed concern over what he described as a sharp rise in poverty, alleging that the number of Nigerians living in extreme poverty has increased from about 87 million before the current administration to nearly 140 million, making Nigeria home to the world’s largest population of people living in extreme poverty.
Obi acknowledged that the Tinubu administration inherited significant economic and security challenges but maintained that leadership should be assessed by the results it delivers rather than the problems it inherits.
“Leadership is measured not by the challenges inherited but by the results achieved,” he said, adding that the government’s response to the nation’s economic difficulties has fallen short of public expectations.
He attributed the worsening hardship to persistent insecurity, poor economic management, fiscal indiscipline, what he described as wasteful public spending, and inadequate investment in productive sectors of the economy.
Obi urged the Federal Government to redirect its priorities towards education, healthcare, agriculture, security and support for small businesses, insisting that sustainable investments in these sectors would stimulate production, create jobs and reduce poverty.
Reaffirming his vision for the country, the former presidential candidate said his commitment remains focused on policies capable of lifting millions of Nigerians out of poverty and hunger.
