Former governor of Anambra State and 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said Nigeria is in a crisis with 38 million people on the verge of extreme hunger.

Obi berated the President Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress administration for engaging in wasteful spending which, according to him, had further worsened the living conditions of Nigerians.

He listed some of the wasteful spending of government as the purchase of a new presidential jet at $100m, N21bn for the renovation of the vice president’s lodge, and N15bn for the construction of the National Assembly clinic.

“You cannot ask people to fast while you are feasting”, Obi added.

Obi, who spoke during an interview with News Central TV, said the Federal Government must use its lean resources to address issues in key development areas such as health, education, poverty alleviation, and security.

“From all records, Nigeria has 38 million people on the verge of extreme hunger; we are the poverty capital of the world. The two most critical areas that are giving us the crisis are human insecurity and food insecurity. To deal with this, we need to invest in agriculture to solve hunger, unemployment, and inflation,” Obi said.

He hinted at the possibility of a merger with other opposition parties to salvage Nigerians from hunger and widespread insecurity ahead of the 2027 presidential election.