The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has suspended its controversial plan to hold national prayer and fasting sessions as a spiritual intervention to address Nigeria’s deepening hunger crisis.
The decision comes amid widespread public outrage and intense criticism over what many Nigerians viewed as a tone-deaf and inadequate response to rising food insecurity.
The initiative was first disclosed through a leaked internal memo dated June 11, 2025. The circular, signed by the ministry’s Director of Human Resource Management, Mrs. Adedayo Modupe O., instructed staff—ranging from directors to desk officers—to participate in weekly prayer gatherings under the theme: “Divine Intervention for Protection and National Development.”
The sessions, which included fasting, were scheduled to take place at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja on June 16, 23, and 30.\
“This is to invite all staff… to a solemn prayer session for God’s guidance and supporting the Government’s effort to achieve food security,” the original circular stated.
However, in a follow-up memo, the ministry abruptly announced the postponement of the programme “until further notice,” offering no reason for the reversal.
The move follows a social media backlash, with many Nigerians calling the plan a misguided attempt to solve a problem that requires urgent policy and economic action. Critics described the approach as a distraction from the country’s pressing agricultural and economic challenges.
Under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, food inflation has soared to over 40% year-on-year as of May 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Prices of essential staples like rice, maize, yam, and garri have more than doubled, exacerbating hardship for millions of Nigerians already burdened by high transport and fuel costs.
The suspension of the prayer programme underscores growing public demand for practical solutions to the food crisis, including increased agricultural investment, subsidies, and food distribution policies—rather than symbolic gestures.
