Atiku to Tinubu: Nigerians shouldn't pay with lives after paying more for fuel

August 31, 2026

Former Vice-President and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has criticised the Bola Tinubu administration over the worsening insecurity in Benue State, saying Nigerians should not be forced to bear the cost of economic reforms while continuing to lose their lives to violence.

Atiku spoke on Monday when he received ADC candidates contesting various elective positions in Benue State, where he described the state’s security crisis as both a threat to food production and a contributor to Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis.

The former vice-president, who described Benue as the “Food Basket of the Nation”, cited a report by Amnesty International which he said recorded 6,896 deaths in the state during the first two years of the Tinubu administration.

“Benue is the Food Basket of the Nation. Today, that basket is bleeding,” Atiku said.