The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, has said Nigerians who are not lazy should have food on their tables, arguing that the availability of food in markets means hardworking people should be able to feed themselves.
Yari made the remark on Friday during the APC rally in support of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 re-election at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
The former Zamfara State governor acknowledged the existence of hunger in the country but questioned whether residents had gone to markets with money and been unable to find food to buy.
He said, “Just as I said, we have hunger. Let me ask a question here. Akwa Ibom people, from where I came from, we have food in the market.
“I don’t know, in Akwa Ibom, are there any person who took his money to the market and found out there is no rice? Are there anybody with his money in his pocket, go to the market to get foodstuff and say that there is no foodstuff in the market?”
Yari argued that the availability of food in markets meant that Nigerians who had money could afford to feed themselves.
“If there is no food in the market, that is what we are calling hunger. But anyone who is not a lazy person, definitely he will have food on his table,” he said.
His comments come amid public concerns over the rising cost of food and the broader economic hardship facing Nigerians, with the cost of living remaining a major issue in the country’s political discourse ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The remarks also come amid a political debate over responsibility for the economic hardship, following comments by Tinubu at a separate APC presidential campaign rally in Kaduna on October 24.
Speaking at the party’s campaign flag-off at the Ranchers Bees Stadium, the President blamed past leaders, particularly opposition figures, for the hunger and poverty confronting Nigerians.
“I hear my opponents talking about hunger. Who created it? They did. They created hunger and poverty. We are trying to eradicate them,” Tinubu said.
He defended his administration’s economic policies, saying the government paid salaries regularly, while promising Nigerians prosperity if re-elected for a second term in 2027.
The remarks attracted criticism from opposition figures, including former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who accused the President of attempting to evade responsibility for the economic situation.
Atiku, the African Democratic Congress presidential candidate, described blaming the opposition for hunger as “delusion” and argued that the hardship confronting Nigerians was linked to government policies.
He also questioned the administration’s handling of the removal of the petrol subsidy and the depreciation of the naira, insisting that Nigerians were entitled to demand answers from the government over the rising cost of living.
Similarly, the National Democratic Congress criticised Tinubu’s remarks, with its National Chairman, Moses Cleopas, saying the President and the ruling APC should take responsibility for the country’s economic situation rather than blame political opponents.
Cleopas, in an interview with Saturday , described the attempt to blame critics for the government’s inability to provide relief to Nigerians as irresponsible.