Labour Party Urges Federal Government to Address Hunger Crisis Amid Rising Hardship
The Labour Party (LP) has called on the federal government to prioritize improving the welfare of Nigerians as the nation grapples with increasing economic hardship and poverty.
This appeal was made by the National Secretary of the party, Umar Farouk Ibrahim, in a statement on Monday. The plea follows recent stampedes in Oyo, Anambra, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where over 50 people, including children, lost their lives during the distribution of end-of-year palliatives.
Speaking on the tragic incidents, Ibrahim attributed the stampedes to widespread hunger and poverty.
“The bottom line is that there is hunger in the land. 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,” he said.
Ibrahim highlighted the dire consequences of the rising cost of living, inflation, and poor economic management, which he said are pushing many Nigerians to the brink.
“One major reason why people resort 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 added.
The LP secretary stressed the need for the country’s resources to be utilized to enhance citizens’ welfare, criticizing the government for its perceived inaction.
“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 its acts together,” he stated.
