‎Obi Faults Tinubu’s Food Security Policies as Nigeria Slides Deeper into Global Hunger Rankings

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has criticized the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu over what he described as the worsening food security situation in Nigeria despite government interventions in the agricultural sector.

In a statement via official X handle, Obi said the Federal Government’s performance after three years in office, was nothing to write home about.

Obi questioned the effectiveness of President Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency on food security in July 2023 and the subsequent launch of what the government described as Nigeria’s largest agricultural mechanisation programme, including the procurement of 2,000 tractors and 9,000 farming implements.

According to Obi, the country’s hunger situation has deteriorated rather than improved during the period.

He noted that Nigeria’s ranking on the Global Hunger Index declined from 103rd position out of 123 countries in 2022/2023 to 115th position out of 123 countries in 2025/2026, placing the nation among the countries facing the most severe food insecurity challenges globally.

The former Anambra State governor also cited projections indicating that millions of Nigerians could face severe hunger, warning that the country now ranks among the nations with the highest number of food-insecure people worldwide.

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‎Obi argued that Nigeria possesses vast expanses of arable but uncultivated land, particularly in the northern region, which he described as one of the country’s greatest economic assets.

He called for increased transparency and strategic investments in agricultural production, insisting that a well-funded and properly managed agricultural sector would not only guarantee food security but also create large-scale employment opportunities for Nigerians.

“Nigeria has no reason to be counted among the hungriest nations in the world when we have vast uncultivated land capable of driving agricultural productivity and economic growth,” Obi said.

‎He reiterated his belief that improved agricultural investment remains key to addressing hunger, unemployment, and broader economic challenges facing the country.