Governor Mohammed Umar Bago says it is shameful that Nigeria is receiving food donations from war-torn Ukraine, re-echoing Peter Obi’s stance.

Mr Bago stated this on Tuesday at the Leadership Award ceremony held at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. Messrs Bago and Obi were awardees at the event.

“My boss,” the Niger governor told Mr Obi, “you are very right on what you’ve said. “We have no reason to be poor. People may not like you, but they must hear you. What you say is the gospel truth.”

Amplifying Mr Obi’s stance, the governor, a member of President BolaTinubu’s ruling All Progressives Congress, said, “It is time we tell ourselves the basic truth. We need to feed ourselves. It is a shame for people (sic) like Ukraine in war to be giving us food.”

He further said, “Nigeria needs to be productive. You cannot be out of poverty unless you start to produce. I’m not an advocate of handouts and palliative. I don’t believe in it.” 

Last week, the Ukrainian government donated 25,000 tonnes of wheat as emergency food assistance to 1.3 million vulnerable, crisis-affected people in the North-East amidst rising inflation and food price spikes.

But Mr Obi said it was “disheartening” and a national disgrace that war-torn Ukraine is donating food to Nigeria. 

However, information minister Mohammed Idris did not see anything bad in receiving donations from war-ravaged Ukraine.

“The fact that we are having challenges at the moment does not make Nigeria a failed state,” said Mr Idris. “Therefore, accepting grains from Ukraine does not make Nigeria or Egypt failed countries.”