Kwankwaso urges Atiku to step aside as Obi calls hunger a "national emergency"

ABUJA, Oct 17 – Peter Obi, the Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate, on Friday called on the federal government to declare hunger a national emergency. He pledged that an administration he led would secure farming communities and give farmers "targeted grants, subsidies, and other forms of support."

"The fight against hunger must be treated as a national emergency," Obi said in a World Food Day statement reported by Sahara Reporters. "Under our leadership, we will secure the country and return our hardworking farmers to their farms." [saharareporters](https://saharareporters.com/2026/10/16/nigeria-now-one-worlds-hungriest-countries-peter-obi-asks-tinubu-declare-hunger-national)

Obi said Nigeria had fallen to 117th of 125 countries on the Global Hunger Index, down from 109th in 2023. He also said about 60% of the country's arable land is uncultivated and is "providing forest hideouts for terrorist organisations and other non-state actors," Daily Post reported. [dailypost](https://dailypost.ng/2026/10/16/hunger-in-nigeria-now-national-emergency-peter-obi-cries-out/)

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security said on the same day that agriculture grew 4.39% in the second quarter of 2026 and that its programmes had helped smallholder farmers produce 2.5 million metric tonnes of staple foods, according to Sahara Reporters. [saharareporters](https://saharareporters.com/2026/10/16/nigeria-now-one-worlds-hungriest-countries-peter-obi-asks-tinubu-declare-hunger-national)

Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Obi's running mate, said in a Thursday interview on Channels Television's Politics Today that former Vice President Atiku Abubakar should give up his presidential bid and back Obi. Asked whether that was his position, he replied: "Well, yes," Vanguard reported. "We are not against him," Kwankwaso said, adding that "everything has time," The Journal reported. [vanguardngr](https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/10/2027-why-i-asked-atiku-to-step-down-for-peter-obi-kwankwaso/)

Kwankwaso also said the party would act to bring down fuel prices, possibly by restoring the petrol subsidy that was removed in May 2023. "Our collective position now is that the price of energy in this country is too high, and our position is that we are going to do whatever is necessary to ensure that the burden is reduced, including the subsidy," he said, ThisDay reported. He added that the party is preparing a policy blueprint on its economic and security plans. [thisdaylive](https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/10/16/kwankwaso-ndc-may-restore-fuel-subsidy-to-ease-hardship/)

In the same interview, Kwankwaso responded to Vice President Kashim Shettima, who on Wednesday called Obi "the master of bogus statistics and incoherent economic prescriptions." "I take time to check the statistics. As far as I'm concerned, most of the figures he was reeling out were correct," Kwankwaso said, Vanguard reported. [vanguardngr](https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/10/bogus-statistics-most-of-obis-figures-were-correct-kwankwaso-replies-shettima/)

Atiku's African Democratic Congress campaign council rejected the call to step down. Its media director, Kola Ologbondiyan, said on Friday that "what Kwankwaso is doing amounts to advancing President Tinubu's interests," Punch newspaper reported. ADC spokesman Bolaji Abdullahi told Premium Times that the party had received no formal proposal for Atiku to withdraw. He said opposition talks under the G100 initiative are "not about a single presidential candidate." [punchng](https://punchng.com/adc-accuses-kwankwaso-of-working-for-tinubu/?amp)

In Kano, the party is fighting to get its governorship ticket onto the ballot. On Friday, hundreds of Kwankwasiyya Movement supporters protested at the state office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). They were led by deputy governorship candidate Mustapha Kwankwaso, and they demanded that candidate Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo be added back to INEC's list, Naija News reported. Kano's resident electoral commissioner, Abdu Zango, said the petition would go to INEC headquarters and that appeals can be filed until Oct. 24. [naijanews](https://www.naijanews.com/2026/10/16/kwankwaso-leads-kwankwasiyya-supporters-in-kano-protest/)

Social Democratic Party: SDP presidential candidate Adewole Adebayo promised on Thursday to overhaul Nigeria's criminal justice system, which he said lets wealthy offenders escape justice while poor people are jailed for petty crimes. "We cannot have a criminal justice system run by criminals," he said in a speech read for him at a Committee for the Defence of Human Rights lecture in Lagos, Vanguard reported. He also accused the government of building a "comprehensive rigging machine" ahead of 2027. Parrot Nigeria noted that this remains a political allegation. [vanguardngr](https://www.vanguardngr.com/2026/10/we-cant-have-criminal-justice-system-run-by-criminals-adebayo/)

African Action Congress: AAC presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore challenged Defence Minister Christopher Musa's assurance that security agencies would stay neutral in the 2027 elections. In a post on X, Sowore called Musa "a partisan hack for Tinubu" and said "he should leave 2027 alone and face insecurity," Daily Post reported. Musa had said after meeting Tinubu on Thursday that the security services would be professional and impartial, Sahara Reporters reported. [dailypost](https://dailypost.ng/2026/10/17/leave-2027-alone-face-insecurity-sowore-tackles-defence-minister-musa/)