Mr Peter Obi, a former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), has said that there is no meaningful achievement in the agricultural sector despite President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency on food security in 2023.
Obi, in a post on X on Thursday evening, slammed the president’s much-talked-about “largest agricultural mechanization program” following the acquisition of 2,000 tractors and 9,000 farming implements.
The former Anambra State Governor, while condemning the programme, said the scheme has not yielded the desired outcome of ensuring food security.
According to the politician, despite the declaration of a state of emergency on food security, the country’s hunger index has worsened significantly, with Nigeria ranking as the 103rd hungriest nation out of 123 countries globally.
He said, “Despite three years of Tinubu’s food emergency, Nigeria hungriest ranking index declined to among the worst nations globally.
“In celebrating his supposed successful three years in office, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu listed some achievements in the agricultural sector, firstly, his declaration of emergency on food security in July 2023, followed by the acquisition of 2,000 tractors and 9,000 farming implements, stated as Nigeria’s largest agricultural mechanization program.
“Yet the outcome of this has been the opposite. Nigeria’s hunger index has worsened significantly. Nigeria’s hunger index ranking was 103rd out of 123 countries surveyed in 2022/2023, and this figure had since worsened to 115th out of 123 countries surveyed in 2025/2026.
Citing a figure provided by the World Bank, which stated that 33 million Nigerians could be hit with severe hunger, the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate called for a holistic approach to investment in agricultural production that will ensure food security and provide employment.
“Consequently, Nigeria is now classified among the world’s most hungry or food-insecure nations in the world, with the World Bank forecasting that 33 million Nigerians could experience severe hunger.
“In fact, Nigeria has the highest number of hungry people in the world.
“I have always maintained that Nigeria have no reason to be seen among the hungriest nations in the world when we have fast, uncultivated land in the north, which is our greatest asset today.
“We must transparently invest in agricultural production, which will guarantee food security, but create huge employment,” he noted.
