Senate parliamentary group leader Ali Ndume says President Bola Tinubu is unaware that many Nigerians are going hungry.
Mr Ndume, who represents Borno South Senatorial District, also claimed that President Tinubu has been “caged” at the Presidential Villa and that some forces are preventing well-meaning people from physically discussing the truth with him.
The Senate leader stated this during a briefing with some journalists at his office at the National Assembly complex on Wednesday.
“Mr President (Bola Tinubu) is not aware of what is happening outside the Villa. He has been surrounded and caged. Many of us will not go through the back door to talk to him.
“He has now been banned from speaking and has no public affairs officers except his spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, who writes press releases,” Ndume said.
He criticised the Tinubu government on food security and specifically said the president is not doing anything about it.
“Nigerians are very, very angry. The government is not doing anything to address the food shortage and they need to do something urgently. We do not have a food reserve.
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“There is no food supply. The food crisis is the worst crisis that any nation can face. If we add to that the security crisis, the situation will be serious,” he added.
The senator, who is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) like Mr Tinubu, called on the President to take adequate measures in the fight against food insecurity.
“The president should wake up, it seems that he is not aware of what is happening because he has been caged. He has been surrounded by plutocrats.
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“He should open his doors and meet with those who will tell him the truth. Unfortunately, those who tell him the truth will have no problem meeting with him. I am very concerned, not only for the president, but for myself.”
During Tuesday's plenary session, he co-sponsored a motion to draw the federal government's attention to looming food insecurity in the country.
After several debates on the motion, the Senate urged the federal government to address the matter immediately.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio also said there is a plan underway to distribute about 60 trucks of fertilizers to each state through the governors before the end of the week to address food insecurity.
Senators in office will also receive two trucks of fertilizer each. Members of the House of Representatives, on the other hand, will receive one truck each.