NDC and Abati push back as Tinubu blames opposition for hunger
- President Tinubu told an APC rally in Kaduna that opponents created Nigeria's hunger and poverty.
- The NDC's Osa Director and broadcaster Reuben Abati rejected the claim, pointing to fuel and food prices.
- Abati said petrol rose from about ₦195 to ₦1,400–₦1,500 per litre under this government.
President Bola Tinubu's remark at an All Progressives Congress (APC) rally in Kaduna on Saturday that opposition parties brought hunger and poverty on Nigerians has drawn sharp responses from a political party and a prominent broadcaster.
According to accounts of the speech carried by several outlets, the President said his opponents talk about hunger and poverty, and asked who created them. He said they did, and that his government is working to remove them.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) answered on Monday through its national publicity secretary, Osa Director, who spoke on Channels Television's Morning Brief. He questioned the timing of the claim, asking whether hunger only began in the last three years, and noted the President had previously said hunger has long existed in the country.
Director argued that a sitting government's duty is to end hardship regardless of who caused it, and said the remark suggests the ruling party has little to campaign on ahead of the 2027 elections.
Fuel and food prices at the centre
Also on Monday, Arise Television anchor Reuben Abati said on the station's Morning Show that the opposition cannot be blamed for hunger in 2026 when it holds no power. The APC has governed since 2015, he said, and the President is now in his fourth year.
Abati tied the cost of living to government policies, including the removal of the fuel subsidy and the devaluation of the naira. He said petrol sold for about ₦195 per litre when Tinubu took office and now goes for ₦1,400 to ₦1,500, pushing up the price of rice, garri and beans. A paint of garri that cost around ₦500 then now sells for about ₦2,500, he said.
"You met the price of fuel at about N195, but now fuel is N1400 to N1500 per litre."
He urged the President to stop pointing at opponents and instead work on bringing down what Nigerians pay to live.
The back-and-forth lands as households continue to feel the squeeze of high fuel and food costs, the issues most likely to shape how voters judge the parties before 2027.
