Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of failing to address widespread hunger and poverty more than two years into his administration.

In a statement issued on Monday by his spokesman, Paul Ibe, Atiku described the rising level of hunger as unacceptable, particularly among the underprivileged.

“Whatever reform the Tinubu government might claim to be undertaking, the point remains that food insecurity is a daily occurrence nationwide. There is no government worth its salt that does not place priority on the welfare and security of the people,” he said.

The African Democratic Party (ADC) chieftain warned that hunger and unbearable living conditions have historically triggered violent uprisings and revolutions, citing the French Revolution, the 1917 Russian Revolution, and the Arab Spring. He added that Nigeria’s own #EndSARS protests were partly driven by frustration with poverty and government insensitivity.

Atiku argued that under Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC), millions of Nigerians remain trapped in poverty, fueling crime, fraud, terrorism, kidnapping, cultism, drug abuse, and ritual killings.

“Whether the present powers accept it or not, the reality of our existence is that the poor are increasingly dying of hunger while the majority of the living poor exist at the mercy of the ill-advised policies of this government,” he said.

He insisted that reforms must be made for citizens’ benefit and not at their expense, urging the government to reflect on the dire situation before it spirals further.