Umar Farouk Ibrahim, the national secretary of the Labour Party (LP), says the federal government should prioritise improving the welfare of Nigerians.
Ibrahim spoke in reaction to the recent stampedes that occurred in Oyo, Anambra, and the federal capital territory (FCT), in which over 50 people, including children, died during the distribution of end-of-the-year palliatives.
In a statement on Monday, the LP secretary said Nigerians have resorted to risky endeavours to stay alive owing to the rising cost of living in the country.
“The bottom line is that there is hunger in the land,” the statement reads.
“It is only poverty that made some Nigerians go scooping fuel from accident scenes, resulting in an inferno that brought about hundreds of casualties. This happened on several occasions in the last year.
“One major reason why people resolve to crime is due to hunger. Nigerians in their millions have been subjected to hunger arising from other reasons such as rising inflation and poor economic management.
“The economic reforms of the Tinubu administration have caused untold hardship to Nigerians. Hunger is turning into an epidemic, and not many people can survive this situation.”
Ibrahim said the country’s resources should be used to enhance the welfare of its citizens.
“Nothing tangible has been done by the government to ameliorate the hunger crisis and check the poverty level in Nigeria. The government must simply sit up and put their acts together,” he said.
By Samuel Akpan @TheCable
