The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over the rising cost of food, accusing the government of focusing on headline inflation while ignoring the worsening hardship faced by Nigerians.
The party said the latest inflation figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that food prices continued to rise despite a marginal moderation in headline inflation.
In a statement on Tuesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said the Tinubu administration had “run out of ideas” and should admit that its economic reforms had failed to ease the cost-of-living crisis.
According to the party, while headline inflation fell marginally from 15.91 per cent in June to 15.43 per cent in July, food inflation rose from 17.52 per cent to 20.31 per cent year-on-year during the same period.
It also said food inflation increased from 3.75 per cent in June to 5.56 per cent month-on-month in July, arguing that the figures reflected the growing difficulty faced by households in affording basic food items.
The ADC linked the situation to the wider food insecurity crisis in the country, citing an earlier report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) that 35 million Nigerians were facing acute food insecurity.
The party described as insensitive the government’s claims of economic progress while Nigerians continued to struggle with rising food prices.
It asked the Tinubu administration to explain why, if its economic reforms were working, Nigerians were finding it increasingly difficult to afford basic food.
The opposition party said food security should be treated as a national security priority and outlined measures it would implement if elected into government.
It proposed an integrated national food production and distribution strategy focused on major staples consumed by Nigerians, as well as targeted interventions to reduce the cost of fertiliser, seeds, machinery, diesel, transportation and agricultural finance.
The ADC also promised to make the security of farmers and farm settlements a central component of its food policy, arguing that insecurity had continued to prevent farmers from accessing their farms, harvesting crops and transporting produce to markets.
It further pledged to tackle the high cost of transporting food from farms to consumers by addressing poor roads, insecurity and multiple levies that contribute to the rising prices of agricultural produce.
The party proposed the establishment of a transparent national food reserve and strategic buffer system to release essential commodities into the market when prices rise sharply, while purchasing from Nigerian farmers when prices fall.
“The responsibility of the government is not to explain that contradiction away. It is to fix it,” the party said.
The ADC maintained that Nigerians should judge the success of economic reforms not by headline inflation figures alone but by whether ordinary citizens could afford food and farmers could earn sustainable incomes.
(The Whistler)
