Abuja, Aug. 8, 2025 – The Presidency has denied a recent claim by a Nigerian newspaper that over 33 million Nigerians are at the risk of hunger.
Sunday Dare, a Special Adviser to President on Media and Public Communications, rebutted the claims in a statement on Friday.
A Nigerian Newspaper recently published an editorial titled “Nigeria is Collapsing under Tinubu’s Watch”, which painted a gory picture of the state of Nigerian economy.
Dare described the claims in the publication as exaggerated and not grounded on facts.
He accused the media outfit of misrepresenting the current economic situation in the country and deliberately fuelling public despair.
The Special adviser said that while it is true that the country is experiencing some economic challenges, the situation is not as gory as portrayed by some critics.
“The claim that 33 million Nigerians are at risk of hunger is a projection, not a confirmed reality.
“Criticism is welcome, but it must be rooted in truth, not fear-mongering,” he said.
Dare said the government was not denying the economic challenges being faced by some Nigerians, but would not allow exaggerated pessimism and generalization to distort the reality.
“The irony is that what is often criticised today are, in fact, the policies that will ensure that Nigerians have a more secure, stable, and prosperous future,” he said.
The special adviser said government was already taking measures to ameliorate the plight of average Nigerians.
He listed some of these measures to include: over 42,000 metric tons of grains released from federal strategic reserves; 117,000 metric tons under additional procurement; activation of Food Security Council by the president; and emergency nutrition support being scaled up in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Katsina, Sokoto, and Bauchi states, amongst others.
