₦airaland Forum

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has accused the federal government of dishonesty over its claims of increased local food production, arguing that widespread insecurity and the displacement of farmers—especially in northern Nigeria—make such assertions untrue.

The party lamented that even farmers who have not been displaced are struggling to afford fertilisers and other essential agricultural inputs due to soaring costs.

In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC questioned the rationale behind hoarding imported food while millions of Nigerians face hunger, describing it as a deliberate weaponisation of poverty for political advantage.


The ADC called for a comprehensive overhaul of the country’s agricultural strategy, urging the government to implement policies that protect local production, stabilise food prices, safeguard farmers’ lives, and ensure long-term food sovereignty.

“The ADC is deeply concerned about 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 administration is manipulating food prices and weaponising hunger for political gains,” the statement said.

The party said the reported reduction in food prices is artificial and driven by import waivers that have flooded the market with cheap foreign food.

“This is neither evidence of sound economic policy nor proof of increased local production. While it may temporarily reduce food prices, it comes at a heavy cost to local farmers who can no longer compete due to rising input prices, particularly fertilisers, and worsening insecurity,” the ADC said.

The party further described as “strange and dishonest” the government’s claim that its policies are boosting domestic production at a time when many farmers have been displaced by bandits.

“How can production be increasing when the rural economy is under siege by bandits and the cost of planting is now beyond the reach of the average farmer?” the statement added.

yarimo:
Crashing food prices ADC are not happy, and the same ADC claiming they want to make Nigeria and Nigerians life better. From ADC statement its clear they don't have any good intentions for Nigeria and Nigerians

Mrchippychappy:
Bro that's not the case. Crashing food prices when you have insecurity issues that lead to the scarcity of food prices in the first place is not sustainable. What is basically happening here is that the FG are using the national reserves to balance out the actual price of the agricultural products so the sellers can at a rate that doesn't actually reflect the true cost of the product

Mrchippychappy:
Bro that's not the case. Crashing food prices when you have insecurity issues that lead to the scarcity of food prices in the first place is not sustainable. What is basically happening here is that the FG are using the national reserves to balance out the actual price of the agricultural products so the sellers can at a rate that doesn't actually reflect the true cost of the product

Flangelo12:
Government shouldn't use the power of the state to bring down food prices.

They should allow it be high if they cannot improve the factors of production.

Dotherightthing:
Nigerian middlemen are the problem. They have been hoarding food in warehouses waiting to make HUGE profit in future.

Now the FG is teaching them a lesson they will NEVER forget in a longtime.

Are you a middleman?

Mrchippychappy:
I don't think you understand how scarcity and demand works, go through my previous post again. You cannot teach them a lesson when you are paying a portion of the actual cost of a product in order to sell that product at a reduced price thereby giving the illusion that there's been a cost reduction. Its an unsustainable bubble that would burst sooner or later

Ofunaofu:
Any so-called “price crash,” when in essence prices aren’t falling below what the Tinubu administration met when it took over, is purely lies, falsehood, and propaganda.

Dotherightthing:
These ADC are MAD o

Are they not happy prices of food is coming down?

Mrchippychappy:
https://www.cbn.gov.ng/Out/2024/RSD/Refocusing Agricultural Subsidy for Food.pdf

This is from an official CBN report from 2025
"Agricultural subsidies in Nigeria can further be justified by the
worsening poverty estimated at 40.0 per cent in 2019 which is more pronounced in
rural areas at 52.1 per cent (NBS, 2020). The income inequality of 35.1 per cent is also
a call for concern just as the raging insecurity in the country. Poverty is more
pronounced among male and female agricultural households, compared with
other employment categories in rural, urban areas in the country."

It's already being done, they just don't have to tell you. Anyone who knows about economics, knows that there are certain elements that needs to be in place to see a reduction of prices, either aggressive output, increased productivity, excess supply, a reduction in demand etc. In the case of Nigeria at the moment, insecurity has drastically reduced our agricultural productivity, our oil export is also experiencing some downturn, so what could possibly be the catalyst that has triggered this "price reduction" in Agricultural products? In the words of Wole Soyinka, this is "voodoo economics"

Simple solution to this, solve the insecurity issue, you cannot be aware of a leak on a ship and still go ahead to set sail with that ship with the intention to patch that ship up as you are on your journey. That's calling for disaster.

Dotherightthing:
Are you implying that FG is subsidising food

Come on! Tinubu would rather die than subsidise food