Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the distribution of 100 trucks of rice and ₦1.2bn cash support to northern states by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, describing the move as the politicisation of hardship rather than a sincere response to economic struggles
The position was contained in a statement issued in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, amid rising concerns over inflation, food insecurity and worsening living conditions across the country, especially in the North where insecurity and declining agricultural output have worsened shortages.
The First Lady had, just a day earlier, launched the distribution of rice and cash assistance to vulnerable households across the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory ahead of Eid-el-Kabir.
The initiative, carried out with the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Political and Other Matters, Ibrahim Masari, was designed to ease economic pressure on vulnerable Muslim families during the festive period.
At the flag-off event in Kaduna, Oluremi Tinubu said the intervention reflects the spirit of sacrifice, compassion and solidarity associated with Eid-el-Kabir, adding that state-level committees would oversee distribution to ensure the items reach intended beneficiaries.
But Atiku strongly rejected the initiative, describing it as a “subtle weaponisation of hunger” and a political tactic.
He said, “What Nigerians are witnessing today is the tragic normalisation of poverty under the administration of President Bola Tinubu. Families can no longer afford basic meals, inflation has ravaged household incomes, and millions are being pushed daily into extreme deprivation. “Yet, instead of addressing the structural causes of this crisis, the government has chosen the path of optics—distributing food in carefully choreographed ceremonies while the underlying suffering deepens.”
He further argued that farmers in northern Nigeria have suffered declining productivity since 2023 due to policy gaps and worsening insecurity, which he said has forced many off their farmlands and disrupted food supply chains.
Atiku also accused the government and its supporters of turning hardship into a political instrument rather than addressing its root causes.
“Ironically, the same government and its promoters now seek to exploit the resulting hardship by turning food into a campaign tool. What the North truly needs is genuine, sustainable food security policies—not campaign lunch packs wrapped in party insignia.
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