Yari: Non-lazy Nigerians should have food on their tables

The Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulaziz Yari, says Nigerians who are not lazy should be able to afford food, despite the economic hardship and rising cost of living across the country.

Yari made the remark during the APC presidential campaign rally in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, where he acknowledged the existence of hunger but argued that food items remained available in markets.

The former Zamfara State governor, while addressing party supporters, questioned whether residents of Akwa Ibom had gone to markets with money and returned without being able to purchase food because the items were unavailable.

According to him, the availability of food in markets meant that the challenge should not necessarily be described as a shortage of food.

“Just as I said, we have hunger. Let me ask a question here. Akwa Ibom people, from where I came from, we have food in the market,” he said.

He further asked whether anyone in the state had experienced difficulty finding basic food items, particularly rice, despite having money to make purchases.

“I don’t know, in Akwa Ibom, is there any person who took his money to the market and found out there’s no rice? You didn’t answer me.

“Is there anybody with money in his pocket who goes to the market to get foodstuffs and says that there’s no foodstuffs in the market?” Yari asked.

He maintained that the absence of food items in markets would constitute hunger, suggesting that the availability of such items meant people could still access food if they had the financial means.

“If there’s no food in the market, that’s what we are calling hunger. But anyone who is not a lazy person, definitely he would have food on his table,” he said.

Yari’s remarks came against the backdrop of widespread concerns over the rising cost of food and the pressure of economic hardship on Nigerian households.