FG Bows To Pressure, Suspends 3 Day Prayer And Fasting Plan For Food Crisis
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has suspended its controversial plan to hold national prayer and fasting sessions as a response to the worsening hunger crisis in Nigeria, CKNNews can confirm.
The spiritual programme, revealed in a leaked circular dated June 11, 2025, had directed ministry staff—including directors and desk officers—to gather for weekly fasting and prayer sessions at the ministry’s headquarters in Abuja. The initiative, titled “Divine Intervention for Protection and National Development,” was scheduled for 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,” read the memo signed by the Director of Human Resource Management, Mrs. Adedayo Modupe O.
However, a follow-up memo from the same official announced the indefinite postponement of the programme without providing any reasons.
The move follows public outrage and online criticism that condemned the idea as tone-deaf and inadequate in the face of soaring food prices and deepening hardship across the country. Many Nigerians demanded concrete policy actions rather than religious symbolism.
Under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, food inflation has surged to over 40% year-on-year as of May 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The prices of essential staples like rice, yam, garri, and maize have more than doubled, worsening the living conditions of already struggling households.
