The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the Federal Government of weaponising poverty and manipulating poverty for political gains. 

In a statement by its spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of being dishonest in its claim of increased local food production and a decline in the cost of food items.

The ADC said it is deeply concerned by the “Federal Government’s misleading narrative around the so-called drop in food prices.

“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.”

“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. 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,” Abdullahi wrote on Tuesday.

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The ADC said contrary to claims by the Federal Government that its policies are leading to increased domestic production, particularly when banditry is taking root in some parts of the country, any “current drop in price is temporary, unsustainable, and driven by panic, not strategy or deliberate planning”.

“This is propaganda. 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,” ADC said.

“We also take note of the government’s claim that it has not released imported food into the market,” the statement read in part.

“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?

“The ADC condemns, in the strongest terms, the weaponisation of hunger and calls for a complete overhaul of the current agricultural approach.”