•Ease financial burden on poor Nigerians, Catholic bishops urge govt
Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo
Former First Lady, Aisha Buhari, has paid a visit to the presidential candidate of African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, in Abuja.
Atiku disclosed the meeting in a post on his social media platforms on Wednesday, describing the visit by the widow of former President Muhammadu Buhari as “warm and deeply appreciated”.
The former vice president decried Nigeria’s worsening child-malnutrition figures, describing it as one of the most disturbing manifestations of the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
He warned that economic hardship was no longer merely emptying the pockets of parents but threatening the physical development and future of millions of Nigerian children.
Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) also called on government at all levels to tackle insecurity and ease the financial burden on poor Nigerians.
Although neither Atiku nor Aisha disclosed the purpose of the visit or details of their discussion, the meeting came as political activities intensified ahead of the 2027 general election.
Aisha was accompanied by one of her daughters and some associates during the visit.
Atiku said the meeting reminded him of the responsibility facing those seeking to lead Nigeria, particularly the need to prioritise the welfare and dignity of citizens.
“Today, I was delighted to receive former First Lady, Aisha Buhari. Her visit was warm and deeply appreciated,” he said.
The former vice president used the occasion to draw attention to the economic difficulties facing Nigerian households, citing the rising cost of food, transportation, education, healthcare, and other essential needs.
He said the country needed an economy capable of rewarding hard work and creating opportunities for citizens.
“Nigerians deserve an economy that rewards hard work, restores opportunity, and allows every family to live with dignity and hope,” Atiku said.
He added that his objective in the presidential campaign was to ease the pressure on households, restore hope, and “Make Nigeria Affordable Again.”
According to him, ‘’Latest figures presented by nutrition experts show that 41.1 per cent of Nigerian children under five are stunted, 19.2 per cent are severely stunted, and the prevalence of stunting rises to 58.2 per cent in the North-West. Nearly two million children are also reported to be suffering severe acute malnutrition, with only about two in every ten receiving treatment.’’
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the figures must be considered alongside the pressure that food, transportation, and energy costs were placing on household budgets.
He stated, “This is the most heart-breaking face of the cost-of-living crisis. Behind every statistic is a Nigerian mother struggling to decide what her children can eat, how much they can eat and how often they can eat.
“A child does not understand inflation figures. A child only knows whether there is food on the table.
“When nutritious food moves beyond the reach of millions of families, the consequences eventually appear in the bodies of our children. Today, the country is being confronted with figures that should shock the conscience of every leader.”
National Bureau of Statistics currently reports food inflation at 19.57 per cent, even as households continue to contend with high prices accumulated over recent years.
Atiku said the relationship between energy costs and household welfare was precisely why his economic programme placed affordability at its centre.
World Bank had previously stated that higher petrol prices reduced household purchasing power directly and could also feed through into the prices of other goods and services, particularly transportation.
He stated, “When fuel becomes expensive, transporting tomatoes from the farm becomes expensive. Taking rice to the market becomes expensive. Moving children to school becomes expensive. Running the neighbourhood grinding machine becomes expensive. Powering the small shop becomes expensive.
“And eventually, the additional cost arrives at the dinner table. That is why I refuse to accept an economic philosophy in which government simply watches prices rise and tells struggling citizens to endure.”
Atiku reiterated that his proposed petroleum intervention was a production subsidy, rather than a return to subsidising imported petrol. His published proposal provides for targeted support tied to crude refined domestically, with the intervention capped, transparently budgeted, and independently audited.
He stated, “My position is straightforward: support what Nigeria produces and refines, lower domestic production costs, and ensure that the benefit reaches the Nigerian consumer.
“This is not an import subsidy. If you do not refine in Nigeria, you do not qualify. The subsidy follows the barrel refined in Nigeria. Produce here. Refine here. Create jobs here. Pay less here.”
Atiku said reducing the underlying cost of energy was important not only because Nigerians bought petrol, but because energy and transportation costs ran through agriculture, manufacturing, logistics, markets, and household expenditure.
He said, “My production-subsidy proposal is therefore not simply a petrol policy. It is part of a broader affordability programme. I want the farmer to spend less getting produce to market.
“I want the trader to spend less transporting goods. I want the bus driver to spend less on fuel. I want parents to have more money left after transportation so that they can put better food on the table.
“Economic policy must ultimately answer a very simple question: Can the ordinary Nigerian afford to live? The nutrition figures before us make that question even more urgent.
“We must expand treatment for severely malnourished children, strengthen maternal and child nutrition programmes and ensure that nutrition budgets actually reach communities.”
Atiku added, “But we must also confront the economic pressures that make adequate diets increasingly difficult for struggling households. We cannot build a strong country on the bodies of hungry children.
“We cannot celebrate economic statistics while mothers are cutting meals and children are denied the nutrition they require to grow.
“My objective is clear: lower the cost of energy, lower transportation and production costs, strengthen Nigerian production, restore purchasing power and give families breathing room again. I will make life affordable again.”
Ease Financial Burden on Poor Nigerians, Catholic Bishops Urge Govts
CBCN said government at all levels must confront insecurity and work to ease the financial burden on poor Nigerians.
The bishops declared their position yesterday in a communique issued at the Closing Mass of the 2026 Second Plenary meeting of the bishops held at St. Benedict Cathedral, Osogbo, capital of Osun State.
A copy of the communique signed by CBCN President, Most Rev Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, Archbishop of Kaduna, and CBCN Secretary, Most Rev Peter Olukayode Odetoyinbo, Bishop of Abeokuta Diocese, and read during the Holy Mass, lamented that worsening killings and attacks had been slowing down the people’s lives and the country’s economy.
The Second Plenary Meeting of CBCN was hosted by Catholic Diocese of Osogbo and held at Our Lady and St. Kizito Pastoral Centre, Oke-Gada, Ede, Osun State, between September 10 and 18.
While appreciating the positive efforts governments and citizens were making in keeping the country united, despite all odds, the bishops regretted that insecurity, poverty, poor infrastructure, bad governance, and assault on human dignity had continued to ravage the country and its citizens.
On insecurity, CBCN recognised the move by government to decentralise the police system to tackle insecurity in the country. But it requested that such a reorganisation should be deployed for the common good rather than for personal, ethnic, political, and religious interests.
CBCN stated, “We observe that incidents of widespread violence, kidnapping, banditry, illegal mining and stealing of our common natural resources persist. All these rob citizens of peace and threaten the unity of the nation.
“In a special way, we demand government to do all that is necessary to stop banditry and recover the vast portions of land used for this criminal activity and ensure a productive and beneficial use of the land.”
CBCN expressed concern that the invasion of schools and places of worship, and abduction or even killing of students and worshippers still went on.
The conference stated, “More so, the massive displacement of communities in some parts of our nation has taken a toll on the social, economic and political lives of our people, with millions of people in IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps across the country.
“We enjoin government to intensify efforts and impactful actions to enable the displaced persons return to their ancestral homes. We equally urge government at all levels to ensure that all people including migrants and refugees are treated with respect and human dignity with their basic rights and needs guaranteed and respected.
“While we pray for the repose of those who have been killed, we encourage Government to strengthen security forces, deploy better intelligence, and hold wrongdoers accountable.
“We ask our people to report suspicious activities, cooperate with security agencies, and reject ethnic or religious divisions.”
Lamenting how poverty had been used as a “despicable instrument of control in our nation”, the bishops stated that hardship and lack of basic needs left many families struggling to survive, despite the national wealth.
The communique said, “We demand that government at all levels create more job opportunities, provide enabling environment for growth, support local businesses, and manage economic policies that ease the financial burden on the poor.
“Concerted efforts, therefore, must be made by the federal and state governments to drastically reduce poverty, pain and suffering of our people. Still more, Government should work to provide enabling policies for private sector participation.
“At the same time, we encourage our citizens to practise honest labour, support local enterprises, and avoid criminality and corrupt practices.”
Bemoaning poor infrastructure, the communique said, “Bad roads, erratic power supply, and failing public utilities slow down economic growth and daily life.”
The bishops charged government to transparently invest more funds in public amenities, repair vital roads, and ensure steady electricity and clean water.
They declared, “We particularly demand that railway transport facilities be provided throughout the nation to enhance socio-economic life of our people. We also ask our people to protect public property from vandalism and report corrupt practices about infrastructural projects.”
On the forthcoming general election, the bishops said, “We approach the 2027 General Election, we call on all stakeholders to work for free, fair and credible elections. We encourage eligible voters to come out en masse to vote qualified people into offices and in line with their good consciences.
“As a conference, we have issued a pastoral letter regarding the forthcoming general elections. We call on all citizens to study the pastoral letter and follow the provisions and guidelines.
“We invite all dioceses and parishes in our nation to embark on civic education, mobilization and end-of-month fasting and prayer with Rosary processions from October to December 2026 in preparation for the elections.
“We announce that 8 December 2026 will be observed as special and national day for prayer and fasting for the success of the elections.”