The African Democratic Congress has criticised the administration of President Bola Tinubu over comments by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, regarding hunger and hardship in the country.
The opposition party said Onanuga’s assertion that he did not see the level of hunger Nigerians were complaining about showed that the Federal Government was disconnected from the realities facing ordinary citizens.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, on Wednesday, the ADC described the remarks as evidence of what it called the prevailing attitude within the current administration.
“The comments are not merely insensitive; they are a startling admission of how disconnected the APC government has become from the realities of the people it governs,” the statement read.
The party argued that many Nigerians were struggling to afford food, transportation, school fees and other basic necessities amid rising inflation and declining purchasing power.
According to the ADC, the country’s worsening cost-of-living crisis is linked to economic policies introduced by the Tinubu administration, which it alleged had pushed more citizens into poverty.
“The truth is that Nigerians are not faking their suffering. Food prices have soared, transportation costs have multiplied, the value of incomes and savings has been eroded, and millions of Nigerians who were managing before are now trapped in economic distress,” the party stated.
The ADC urged government officials to engage directly with citizens in markets, farms, schools, workshops and communities to better understand the impact of their policies, rather than relying on the experiences of people within their immediate circles.
The party also dismissed any attempt to point to infrastructure development as proof of economic progress, insisting that government policies must first improve the welfare of citizens.
“Nigerians cannot eat roads,” the statement added.
The ADC maintained that the administration had failed to improve living conditions and called on the government to acknowledge the consequences of its economic decisions.
It warned that continued dismissal of public complaints about hardship would further strengthen perceptions that the government was unwilling to confront the challenges facing Nigerians.
The statement was issued against the backdrop of growing debate over the state of the economy and comments attributed to Onanuga on the level of hunger and hardship across the country.
