Food Inflation: Tinubu Govt Has Failed Nigerians – ADC

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the administration of President Bola Tinubu of failing Nigerians over the continued rise in food prices, declaring that the government has “run out of ideas” on how to tackle the worsening cost-of-living crisis.

The party said the latest inflation figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that while headline inflation moderated marginally, food inflation continued to rise, making it increasingly difficult for ordinary Nigerians to afford basic necessities.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the government’s focus on headline inflation failed to reflect the economic reality confronting millions of Nigerians.

The party noted that headline inflation declined from 15.91 per cent in June to 15.43 per cent in July, but said food inflation rose from 17.52 per cent to 20.31 per cent year-on-year during the same period.

It also expressed concern over the month-on-month increase in food inflation, which rose from 3.75 per cent in June to 5.56 per cent in July.

According to the ADC, the figures demonstrate that Nigerians are still struggling with the high cost of staple foods despite government claims of economic progress.

The party said the situation was consistent with concerns raised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) over food insecurity and malnutrition in Nigeria.

“We therefore find it most insensitive that the government continues to make claims about economic progress while Nigerians are starving under its watch,” the party said.

The ADC challenged the Tinubu administration to explain why Nigerians were finding it increasingly difficult to afford food if its economic reforms were delivering the desired results.

It said: “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.”

The party said that, if elected, its priority would be to make food security a national security issue and implement an integrated strategy for food production and distribution.

It proposed measures aimed at reducing the cost of agricultural inputs, energy, transportation and finance for farmers, while also improving security around farming communities.

The ADC said there was little value in providing farmers with inputs if insecurity prevented them from accessing their farms, harvesting crops or transporting produce to markets.

It also promised to address the high cost of moving food from farms to consumers, citing poor roads, insecurity, transportation costs and multiple levies as factors contributing to high food prices.

The party further proposed the establishment of a transparent national food reserve and strategic buffer system to release essential staples into the market when prices rise sharply, while purchasing from farmers when prices fall.

The ADC said such a system would protect both consumers and producers from extreme price fluctuations.
The party maintained that Nigerians were entitled to judge the government’s economic performance by the price of food rather than headline inflation figures.

“The responsibility of government is not to explain that contradiction away. It is to fix it,” the ADC said.