The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has lamented that a vast majority of Nigerians now spend their income on food, yet it’s hardly enough.
In a post on X, Monday, to commemorate World Food Day, Obi stated that the food crisis has remained a serious challenge facing many households in the country.
He said, “Consequently, a vast majority of Nigerians spend the entirety of their disposable income on foods, which is often hardly enough.”
Obi also urged the government to find urgent solutions to the food crisis facing many households in the country.
His words: “As the global community marks World Food Day today, we must remind ourselves of the present food crisis in the nation, and seek urgent steps to salvage the people from further hunger and starvation.
“Food crisis has remained a serious challenge facing many households in Nigeria, as the country is reported, by Global Hunger Index, to be facing a serious hunger level.
“With more than half of the population living in poverty, a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has shown that over 90 million Nigerians face food nsecurity, thus posing obstacles to a healthy population and human development.
“In the 2023 Global Hunger Index, Nigeria ranked 109th out of the 125 countries measured, showing that we currently battle high level of hunger. Reports have it that Nigeria’s food inflation rate in August 2023 was about 30 percent on a year-on-year basis.”
He also decried that the constant attacks on farmers in the country by armed and terrorist groups is pushing the country towards a hunger crisis.
“The horrible spate of attacks on farmers in Nigeria by armed and terror groups have continued to hinder food production, food supplies and therefore, threatening to push the country deeper into a devastating hunger crisis. Lack of adequate investment in agriculture also contribute greatly to food crisis in Nigeria.”
“I have maintained that the vast fertile lands in the North, if put into productive agricultural use, will produce enough food for domestic consumption and for exports, which can give us more revenue than we generate from oil.
“Government, therefore, must invest heavily in agriculture, to ensure sufficient food production for Nigeria and the global world. Happy World Food Day.”
