The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has expressed deep concern over the latest assessment by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), which reveals that Nigeria is facing one of its worst food security emergencies in nearly a decade.

The report paints a grim picture of a nation where millions of citizens are struggling to access basic food, as insecurity, economic hardship and declining agricultural production continue to push families into deeper hunger.

WFP Report Confirms Escalating Hunger Across Nigeria

According to the WFP, more than 17 million Nigerians across nine conflict-affected northern states are now experiencing Crisis, Emergency or Catastrophic levels of food insecurity. This represents an increase of almost two million people compared to previous projections.

The humanitarian agency reports that Borno State alone accounts for more than three million acutely food-insecure people, while the combined figure for Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States has risen to 6.2 million people.

According to the ADC, these are not political claims or opposition figures but rather the findings of the world's leading humanitarian agency on hunger, underscoring the severity of Nigeria's growing food crisis.

Hunger in Nigeria Is a Government-Created Crisis

The WFP identifies the major drivers of the crisis as expanding insecurity, persistent attacks on farming communities, mass displacement, restricted humanitarian access and declining support for vulnerable populations.

For the ADC, these findings reinforce what millions of Nigerians have been experiencing daily: the country's hunger crisis is not the result of natural disasters alone but the consequence of sustained policy failures.

The party maintained that the inability of the current administration to secure communities, protect farmers and create conditions for agricultural productivity has significantly worsened food insecurity across the country.

Three Years of Unfulfilled Promises

The ADC further stated that for the past three years, Nigerians have repeatedly been assured that the economic hardship and rising cost of living would be temporary but the latest WFP assessment confirms a different reality. According to the party, insecurity continues to spread, agricultural production is declining, food inflation remains persistently high, and millions of Nigerians are being pushed deeper into poverty and hunger.

The ADC notes that while many Nigerian families struggle to afford even one meal a day and parents are forced to make impossible decisions about feeding their children, government officials continue to deny the scale of the crisis and remain disconnected from the everyday realities facing ordinary citizens.

Nigeria's Food Crisis Was Preventable

The ADC believes that the current humanitarian emergency was not inevitable.

The party has consistently argued that Nigeria's food security challenges cannot be addressed through speeches, temporary palliative programmes or reactive interventions. Instead, the country requires a coordinated national strategy that treats food security as a matter of national security and economic stability.

This commitment is reflected in the ADC Manifesto, which places agriculture and food security at the centre of national development.

The ADC's Plan to Restore Food Security in Nigeria

The party emphasized that An ADC-led government will adopt a comprehensive approach to tackling hunger by making food security a permanent item on the agenda of the National Security Council. This will enable coordinated action across the federal, state and local governments to address insecurity, improve agricultural productivity and strengthen food systems.

The ADC's agricultural agenda includes:

• Prioritising smallholder farmers through investments in improved seeds, fertilisers, mechanisation, extension services and access to markets.
• Reviving Nigeria's 264 abandoned dams to support year-round irrigation, reduce dependence on seasonal rainfall and significantly expand food production.
• Investing in aggregation centres, modern warehouses, cold-chain infrastructure and strategic grain reserves to minimise post-harvest losses, stabilise food prices and improve national food resilience.
• Strengthening national food systems to combat inflation by increasing domestic agricultural output and ensuring that food reaches consumers efficiently.

Nigeria Deserves a Government That Prioritises Food Security

The party emphasized that food security is a matter of national survival, adding that the WFP report serves as an urgent reminder that millions of Nigerians cannot wait any longer for decisive leadership. The party further stated that the country needs a government that protects farmers, secures rural communities, supports agricultural production and ensures that every Nigerian has access to affordable food.

The African Democratic Congress expressed committment to providing that leadership through practical policies that restore food security, strengthen the economy and improve the lives of all Nigerians.

As the humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, the ADC calls on the Federal Government to acknowledge the scale of the crisis, act with urgency and place the welfare of the Nigerian people above politics.