Former Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye has decried the worsening state of hunger in Nigeria, noting that citizens are now scavenging for food in garbage dumps due to the harsh economic realities under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Speaking on Friday during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Melaye painted a grim picture of life under the current All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government.
“We are in a precarious situation in this country, like we have never been. It has never been this disastrous, it has never been this terrible,” he lamented.
According to him, the level of hunger is now “chartered,” with malnutrition becoming widespread in rural communities.
“The hunger in this country is chartered; people are dying of malnutrition in the rural communities of this country. People are beginning to visit garbage centres to look for crumbs and food.”
He added that the desperation among Nigerians is now so severe that distributing bags of rice in rural areas could lead to stampedes.
“Take a trip to your village and just announce that you want to share just bags of rice. If you are not careful, there will be casualties as a result of the struggle just to get one tin or two tins of rice,” he warned.
Melaye further criticized the APC government, saying it is not leading Nigerians on a path that promises a better future.
“The Federal Government under the APC is not leading us on the right path because the possibility of getting to your destination is not there.”
He also used the interview to confirm his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
The former Senator described the PDP as a mere extension of the ruling APC, accusing the former ruling party of losing its opposition stance.
“The PDP has been purchased by the APC. The PDP is a parastatal of the APC; the PDP is a department of the APC.
“Just look at the number of governors in the PDP today. Are these governors acting like opposition governors? You know the role of an opposition, and you know how powerful Nigerian governors are,” he alleged.
The former PDP governorship candidate for Kogi State said his decision to join the ADC was driven by the party’s commitment to tackling the hardship Nigerians are enduring.