The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s government over rising food prices, saying it has “run out of ideas” on how to tackle the cost-of-living crisis.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said the government’s focus on headline inflation ignores the daily struggles of Nigerians.
The ADC cited NBS figures showing headline inflation fell from 15.91 per cent in June to 15.43 per cent in July, but said food inflation rose sharply.
Abdullahi said, “While the government celebrates the moderation in headline inflation announced by the NBS, the same report tells a much more troubling story.
“While headline inflation slowed, food inflation accelerated sharply, rising from 17.52 per cent in June to 20.31 per cent in July on a year-on-year basis.
“More disturbingly, food inflation rose from 3.75 per cent in June to 5.56 per cent in July on a month-on-month basis. This means that the prices of food items like rice, tomatoes, onions, pepper, beef, eggs, garri and other basic foods in Nigeria increased by 48% in July alone.”
He linked the figures to an earlier FAO report that 35 million Nigerians face acute food insecurity, adding, “That is the economy Nigerians are experiencing under Bola Tinubu’s APC.
The ADC said food security must be treated as a national security issue, with measures to boost food production, cut farming and transport costs, improve security and create strategic food reserves.
Abdullahi said, “We therefore find it most insensitive that the government continues to make claims about economic progress while Nigerians are starving under its watch. The Tinubu administration must answer a very simple question: If the government’s economic reforms are working, why are Nigerians still finding it increasingly difficult to afford food?
“At some point, a responsible government must be willing to admit that it has reached the limits of its capacity and even its best approach has not yielded the desired results. The ADC believes this government has done its best within the limits of its chosen approach. “Therefore, as the condition of ordinary citizens continues to get worse, what we expect from this government is an honest admission of defeat rather than relentless attempts to hoodwink the people who can no longer be deceived by the government’s “things are getting better” propaganda. Hunger cannot be wished away by numbers on paper.”
