Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu on Saturday blamed the opposition for creating hunger and poverty in the country to undermine his government.
Tinubu made the declaration in Kaduna, northern Nigeria, as he officially flagged off his campaign for a second term in office.
“I hear my opponents talking about hunger and poverty. Who created it? They did! They created the hunger, they created the poverty. We are trying to eradicate it,” Tinubu told the crowd.
“We pay salaries regularly, our Governors are working”; he further stated.
The accusation has raised eyebrows, given that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has governed Nigeria since 2015, with Tinubu taking over as president in May 2023.
As one Political Analyst in Kaduna stated: “You cannot be President for over three years, your party in power for eleven years, and still say opponents created the hunger. Nigerians are living the hunger now, not in the past.”
With millions of Nigerians struggling with the rising cost of living, the President’s attempt to blame the opposition for hunger and poverty under his administration is likely to intensify criticism of his government’s handling of the economy.