Reported Drop in Food Prices Artificial, Says Opposition Party ADC

Nigeria’s main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has accused President Bola Tinubu’s government of creating an artificial drop in food prices and “weaponising hunger” against its own people.

The accusation comes a day after the Federal Government said a recent decline in food costs was due to improved local production and the start of the harvest season.

In a strongly worded statement, the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, dismissed the government’s claims. He said the reported price drop was not a sign of sound policy but a temporary situation caused by flooding the market with cheap, imported food.

“Contrary to what is being celebrated in official circles, the reality on the ground, as confirmed by the voices of struggling farmers and families across the country, is that the Tinubu government is manipulating food prices and weaponising hunger for political gains,” the statement read.

“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.”

The party argued that this approach harms local farmers who cannot compete with cheap imports, especially while facing high costs for fertiliser and persistent insecurity in rural areas.

The ADC also questioned the government’s logic, suggesting that if no imported food had been released as officials claimed, it would mean the government was hoarding food during a crisis.

“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 statement asked.

The party described the government’s narrative as “propaganda” and insisted the price drop was unsustainable.

“The ADC condemns in the strongest terms the weaponisation of hunger and calls for a complete overhaul of the current agricultural approach,” the statement concluded. “We must protect local producers, address rural insecurity, and invest in long-term food sovereignty, not temporary political optics. The Nigerian people deserve truth and food, not manipulation and a false narrative of renewed hope.”