Obi Slams Tinubu's Hunger Comment To Bishops

Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has publicly criticized the Obi-Tinubu hunger comment made by the president during a meeting with the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Nigeria at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

During the meeting, President Bola Tinubu told the visiting bishops that hunger had existed in Nigeria long before he was born, a remark he made while defending his administration's economic and security record.

Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, responded in a statement on his official social media page, calling the comment out of touch with what ordinary Nigerians are currently living through.

"I watched with deep concern the statement made by President Bola Tinubu to the Catholic Bishops, that there has always been hunger in Nigeria, even before he was born. While it is true that hunger has been a part of human life and has existed in our country for decades, such a statement appears insensitive to the plight of the millions of Nigerians who face worsening economic hardship today," Obi said.

According to Obi, the country's food insecurity and poverty situation has sharply worsened since the current administration took office in 2023. He cited the following figures as his own assessment of the shift:

• Severe food insecurity has grown from about 17 million people to roughly 35 million
• Extreme poverty has climbed from an estimated 87 million in 2023 to nearly 140 million
• Nigeria, in his view, now has the largest number of people living in extreme poverty of any country in the world

These figures represent Obi's own statement and have not been independently verified in this report.

"No one disputes that this administration inherited serious challenges. However, leadership is measured not by the challenges inherited but by the results achieved. The government must honestly acknowledge that its response has fallen far short of what the situation demanded," he said.

Obi attributed the worsening conditions to a mix of factors, including:

• Weak investment in productive sectors
• Inefficient government spending
• Fiscal indiscipline
• Poor economic management
• Ongoing insecurity across the country

He called on the federal government to prioritize education, healthcare, agriculture, security, and small business support, arguing that doing so would boost employment, raise productivity, and reduce poverty nationwide.

Obi's comments come just days after Tinubu told the same CBCN delegation that his government has stabilized the country and pulled the economy back from the brink of bankruptcy, pointing to reforms he says are already improving security coordination and expanding support programs like the Nigerian Education Loan Fund. Tinubu also pushed back broadly against political opponents, suggesting their criticism reflects their own uncertainty rather than the facts on the ground.