The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, decried the high rates of poverty in the country on Monday, noting that Nigerians now spend their income on food, yet it’s hardly enough, News About Nigeria reports.
The former Governor of Anambra State, who said this in a post on X in commemoration of World Food Day, noted that the food crisis remains a serious challenge facing many households in the nation.
According to him, a vast majority of Nigerians spend the entirety of their disposable income on food, which is often hardly enough.
He also explained that more than half of Nigeria’s population is living in poverty, and according to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), over 90 million Nigerians face food insecurity, which, in turn, is an obstacle to a healthy population and human development.
The Labour Party flagbearer in the last election, who also revealed that Nigeria is currently battling a high level of hunger, urged the government to find urgent and lasting solutions to the food crisis facing many households in the country.
“I have maintained that the vast fertile lands in the North, if put into productive agricultural use, will produce enough food for domestic consumption and for exports, which can give us more revenue than we generate from oil.
“Government, therefore, must invest heavily in agriculture to ensure sufficient food production for Nigeria and the global world.”
Obi also lamented the constant attacks on farmers in the country by armed and terrorist groups, noting that it is pushing the country towards a hunger crisis, as farmers can no longer produce enough food to serve the nation’s teeming population.
