Tinubu’s Govt Spent N9.74 Billion On Food Palliatives In 2024 – Report

The President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government reportedly spent a total of N9.74 billion for the procurement and distribution of food items as part of its efforts to mitigate the nationwide food crisis in 2024.
This was revealed by BudgIT on its platform, GovSpend, a civic-tech organisation advocating for transparency and accountability.
According to the report, a large portion of the funds was dedicated to supplying essential food staples such as rice, beans, maize, and other commodities.
The report showed that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security led the initiatives, making multiple payments to contractors responsible for the emergency supply of palliative foodstuffs to various federal constituencies.
Key transactions included payments for the delivery of rice, beans, and garri to help alleviate hunger in vulnerable communities.
Payments, averaging around N85.45 million per constituency, were made between February and November 2024 across different regions.
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Data from the platform reportedly indicate that N85,454,545.46 was spent on each constituency in states including Kano, Ogun, Osun, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Adamawa, Kaduna, Jigawa, Ekiti, Oyo, Lagos, Bauchi, Rivers, Borno, Sokoto, and Enugu, bringing the total expenditure to N9.74 billion.
However, despite the significant financial outlay, there are concerns about the programme’s effectiveness in addressing the root causes of food insecurity.
Shedrach Israel, an economist at Lotus Beta Analytics, argued that food palliatives alone cannot solve Nigeria’s food crisis, according to PUNCH.
“While food palliatives are essential for addressing immediate hunger, they fail to address the underlying systemic issues, such as inflation and the deficiencies in the agricultural sector,” Israel said.
Israel added, “We need long-term economic policies focused on boosting local agricultural productivity and improving distribution networks to reduce dependence on external food aid.”
Israel further said that the N9.74 billion spent on palliatives could have been better invested in agricultural innovation and infrastructure development, which would provide sustainable solutions to food insecurity.
Also, La’ah Dauda, an agricultural economist based in Kaduna, emphasised the need for a more comprehensive approach to addressing the food crisis.
“The government’s reliance on palliatives is a short-term fix to a deeper agricultural crisis. While necessary, these measures do not tackle critical issues like inadequate irrigation, poor storage facilities, and limited market access, all of which continue to impede agricultural productivity across the country,” he said.

Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.