The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the three recent food stampedes in Nigeria as “an ugly testament to the alarming level of misery, poverty, hunger, starvation, sense of hopelessness and desperation for survival currently plaguing our nation” under the President Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
In a statement on Sunday, PDP spokesman Debo Ologunagba said the tragic stampedes at private food distribution events in Oyo and Anambra states as well as Abuja which claimed the lives of over 60 citizens could have been averted.
The PDP commiserated with the families of the victims of the three food queue stampedes and called for urgent medical attention for the survivors.
The party said, “The PDP is devastated that the APC-led administration has wrecked our once thriving economy and pushed millions of Nigerians deeper into abject poverty and hunger with many citizens, not being able to afford their daily meals, now resorting to suicide and desperate measures including slavery mission abroad and fighting for crumbs for survival.
“It is heartbreaking that despite our abundant resources as a nation, Nigerians have been subjected to agonizing life where they die struggling for food.”
The PDP said the APC administration should wake up and not continue in “arrogant false performance claims including empty assurances of food sufficiency while deliberately failing to make the required investments to boost the productive sector, particularly in agriculture and food production”.
The party said the Tinubu government should immediately “review the hasty implementation of the suffocating policies of abrupt increase in the price of petroleum products and the floating of the Naira, despite the crippling consequences on the productive sector and life-discounting effect on the citizenry”.
The PDP called on Nigerians to hold the Tinubu-led APC administration responsible for the remote cause of these tragic occurrences for which it must recompense.
“Our Party insists that any administration that is sensitive and cares for the people would have since introduced intervention programmes to ease the suffering and improve on the welfare of the masses which is the primary purpose of government,” the PDP said.
