• HURIWA knocks President over hunger blame on opposition
• City Boy Movement claims youth turnout at Kaduna rally validates mobilisation efforts

Director of Strategic Communication of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Phrank Shaibu, has accused President Bola Tinubu of losing touch with reality, alleging that he is disconnected from the economic hardship facing Nigerians.

This comes as the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) criticised the President for blaming opposition parties for hunger and poverty, urging him to focus on worsening insecurity and the economic hardship facing millions of Nigerians.

Meanwhile, the City Boys Movement (CBM) claimed that the massive turnout of young Nigerians at Saturday’s APC presidential campaign flag-off in Kaduna State validated its grassroots mobilisation efforts.

Shaibu, during an interview on Arise News yesterday, faulted the President for blaming the opposition for hunger despite spending three and a half years in office.

“He has lost touch with reality. Bola is not aware of his environment. He is not aware of what Nigerians are going through. He’s not even aware that he’s President,” Shaibu said.

The ADC chief described Tinubu’s explanation of the country’s hunger crisis as delusional, arguing that the President should take responsibility for the economic situation under his administration.

“I watched him yesterday, and my eight-year-old son, who was beside me, said, ‘What’s this man talking about?’ He has been in office for three and a half years, and he’s talking about hunger being created by the opposition. I think it is delusional,” he said.

Shaibu challenged Tinubu to compare the cost of living when he assumed office on May 29, 2023, with the present situation, arguing that Nigerians should not be worse off under his leadership.

HURIWA said the President’s re-election campaign flag-off in Kaduna provided an opportunity to address the security crisis in the North and the rising cost of living. However, it accused him of shifting responsibility onto political opponents rather than presenting concrete solutions.

In a statement signed yesterday by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA challenged Tinubu to explain his administration’s plans to defeat terrorists, dismantle kidnapping networks and rescue Nigerians held captive across the country.

The group expressed concern over continuing attacks and abductions in Borno, Kwara, Niger and other affected states. It said the government must provide clear timelines for rescue operations and strengthen intelligence gathering to prevent further attacks.

“Nigerians cannot afford another campaign season filled with promises while families continue to wait desperately for the return of abducted relatives and communities remain vulnerable to armed attacks,” HURIWA said.

It maintained that the government should measure its performance by the lives it protected, the captives it rescued and the communities it made safe.

Faulting Tinubu’s response to complaints about hunger and poverty, the association argued that his administration must accept responsibility for the consequences of its economic policies since taking office in May 2023.

At the Kaduna rally, the President reportedly said: “They created the hunger. They created the poverty. We are trying to eradicate it.”

But HURIWA said the remarks amounted to an attempt to shift responsibility for the hardship Nigerians face, particularly following the removal of petrol subsidy and the introduction of exchange-rate reforms.

DIRECTOR-GENERAL of CBM, Francis Shoga, said the enthusiasm displayed by youths at the Kaduna rally reflected growing interest in President Tinubu’s development agenda and a desire among young Nigerians to participate more actively in shaping the country’s political and economic future.

In a statement entitled, ‘Beyond the Road: Unlocking Opportunities, Empowering Young Nigerians, and Building a Prosperous Future’, CBM attributed the turnout partly to the movement’s sustained grassroots engagement, including its mobilisation activities and street walk in Kano.

“The enthusiasm witnessed in Kaduna, alongside our grassroots engagement and street walk in Kano, reinforces our conviction that young Nigerians want to be part of a national conversation about development, opportunity and a more prosperous Nigeria,” he said.

Shoga explained that the movement’s activities went beyond mobilising electoral support for Tinubu, noting that it also sought to educate young people on government policies and equip them to take advantage of emerging economic opportunities.

He particularly welcomed the commissioning of an 81-kilometre section of the Abuja-Kaduna highway during the campaign flag-off, describing the project as a significant infrastructure intervention with the potential to stimulate economic activities across the North-West.