A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and member of the Presidential Campaign Council, Alwan Hassan, has dismissed claims that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has plunged Nigerians into hunger.
He insisted that Nigerians are not that hungry and that the rhetoric was being peddled by the opposition, saying he lives in Nigeria and has firsthand information and experience.
Hassan said this while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday.
He said Nigerians had it good under Tinubu as foodstuff prices had crashed and farmers were complaining about the sharp drop in prices. He added that the government had used importation to force the crash.
“People are not that hungry the way the opposition are portraying it. And I’ll say it anywhere. People are not that hungry.
“In fact, farmers are complaining because foodstuffs are down in the market. Why? Because this government is importing and reducing the prices,” Hassan said.
However, when asked whether relying on food imports was a positive indication of the government’s performance in the agricultural sector, he acknowledged that Nigeria was yet to produce enough food to meet its domestic consumption needs.
“We cannot feed ourselves. No, but while we do things to now cover up the gaps, well, in the meantime, we must import,” he said.
The Tinubu administration has defended its economic reforms, including the removal of petrol subsidy and changes to the foreign exchange regime, as necessary measures to stabilise the economy.
