The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has highlighted the pivotal role of Benue State in food production in Nigeria, lamenting that the state should not still have to pay with blood following the removal of the fuel subsidy by President Bola Tinubu.
Atiku made the remarks when he hosted ADC candidates for various elective positions in Benue State on Monday.
Citing Amnesty International, he noted that in just the first two years of the Tinubu administration, 6,896 people were killed in Benue State alone.
“Behind that figure are farmers who never returned from their farms, families driven from their ancestral homes, and communities emptied by fear. And when Benue cannot farm, Nigeria cannot eat cheaply.
“Every farmer forced off the land eventually shows up in the price of yam, rice, beans, vegetables and meat in the market. Insecurity is not only a security crisis; it is now a cost-of-living tax on every Nigerian family,” he said.
Atiku explained that he was not only speaking about the situation as a former Vice President but also as a farmer who had felt the consequences of insecurity.
“My farms have suffered from theft and disruption,” he affirmed. “I therefore understand, from personal experience, what insecurity does to production, livelihoods and ultimately the price of food in the market.”
He argued that this makes the failure of the Tinubu administration even more difficult to excuse.
“Nigerians were told that removing fuel subsidy would free enormous resources for development and security. Yet, in 2025 alone, the Nigeria Customs Service disclosed about ₦34 trillion in import-duty exemption approvals, with a substantial portion reportedly linked to military hardware.
“So Nigerians are entitled to ask a simple question: Where is the security? Where are the results?” he asked.
Atiku asserted that if Nigerians must pay more for fuel so that the government can have more resources, and enormous concessions are being approved in the name of national priorities, then Nigerians should not also have to pay with their lives.
He stressed that the crisis is solvable, saying he had helped broker peace between Tiv and Fulani communities before, and that he remained convinced that criminality has no tribe.
“A killer is a killer. A thief is a thief. We must punish criminals, protect farmers, secure livestock owners, and restore peaceful coexistence,” he remarked.
He advised ADC candidates in Benue that their mission must be greater than winning elections, emphasising that it must be about protecting lives, restoring livelihoods, reviving the Food Basket of the Nation, and making life more affordable again.
“Tinubu removed the subsidy. Nigerians paid the price. Government got the resources. Benue should not still be paying with blood,” he said, urging the President to secure and restore Benue and make Nigeria affordable again.
