President Bola Tinubu’s administration reportedly spent ₦9.74 billion in 2024 to procure and distribute food items aimed at addressing the ongoing food crisis across Nigeria.
This was revealed by BudgIT, a civic-tech organization advocating for transparency and accountability in government spending, through its GovSpend platform.
The report highlighted that a significant portion of the funds was allocated to essential staples such as rice, beans, maize, and other commodities.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security led the initiative, contracting suppliers to deliver palliative food items to federal constituencies nationwide.
Key efforts included the distribution of rice, beans, and garri to vulnerable communities facing severe hunger. BudgIT’s findings showed that payments of approximately ₦85.45 million were made to each constituency between February and November 2024.
The food intervention program covered states such as Kano, Ogun, Osun, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Adamawa, Kaduna, Jigawa, Ekiti, Oyo, Lagos, Bauchi, Rivers, Borno, Sokoto, and Enugu, with a total expenditure of ₦9.74 billion.
Meanwhile, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, representing Ondo South in the National Assembly, has called on the federal government to introduce food vouchers to alleviate hunger and hardship in the country. Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., attended by Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Olayemi Cardoso and Finance Minister Wale Edun, Senator Ibrahim argued that food vouchers could provide direct relief to approximately 20 million Nigerians, reduce inflation, and stabilize the naira.
He emphasized that failure to address the issues of hunger and food insecurity could lead to a national crisis. The lawmaker also urged the CBN and the Ministry of Finance to harmonize their policies to improve the nation’s economic stability.
