Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, on Friday criticised the distribution of 100 trucks of rice and ₦1.2bn cash support to northern states by the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, describing the intervention as a politicisation of hardship rather than a genuine response to economic distress.

He stated this in a statement issued in Abuja by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

His reaction comes amid growing concerns over rising food prices, inflation and worsening living conditions across the country, particularly in the North where insecurity and declining agricultural productivity have deepened food shortages.

The First Lady had, barely 24 hours earlier, flagged off the distribution of the rice and cash support to vulnerable households across the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

The initiative, carried out in collaboration with the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Political and Other Matters, Ibrahim Masari, is aimed at cushioning the impact of economic hardship on vulnerable Muslim communities during the festive period.

Speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Kaduna, Tinubu said the intervention reflects the spirit of sacrifice, compassion and solidarity associated with Eid-el-Kabir, adding that distribution would be handled through state coordinating committees to ensure the items reach intended beneficiaries.

Atiku, however, faulted the move, describing it as a “subtle weaponisation of hunger” and a political strategy.

He said, “What Nigerians are witnessing today is the tragic normalisation of poverty under the administration of President Bola Tinubu. Families can no longer afford basic meals, inflation has ravaged household incomes, and millions are being pushed daily into extreme deprivation.

“Yet, instead of addressing the structural causes of this crisis, the government has chosen the path of optics—distributing food in carefully choreographed ceremonies while the underlying suffering deepens.”

Continuing, the chieftain of the African Democratic Congress argued that since 2023, farmers in the North have faced declining productivity due to policy failures and worsening insecurity, which have forced many off their lands and weakened food supply chains.

He alleged that rather than addressing these structural issues, the government and its allies are exploiting the resulting hardship by turning food distribution into a political tool.

“Ironically, the same government and its promoters now seek to exploit the resulting hardship by turning food into a campaign tool. What the North truly needs is genuine, sustainable food security policies—not campaign lunch packs wrapped in party insignia.

“It is even more troubling that this pattern did not begin today. During Ramadan last year, the President’s son, Seyi Tinubu, embarked on a widely publicised distribution of food items across parts of the North—an exercise presented as charity but clearly designed to test the waters of this now entrenched strategy of politicising hunger.

“What was then an experiment has now evolved into a full-blown policy of optics over substance. Let it be said without equivocation: Nigerians are not beggars to be pacified with periodic handouts while their livelihoods collapse,” he stated.

Atiku further called on Nigerians to reject what he termed the politics of survival and demand accountable leadership.