FG, food card partner to address hunger among vulnerable senior citizens

Food

By Lucy Ogalue

Abuja, Oct. 6, 2026 (NAN) The Federal Government has partnered with Food Card Nigeria Ltd. to address hunger among vulnerable senior citizens through a new food support initiative.

The Director-General, National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC), Medinat Akinyemi-Obe, said this at the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Abuja on Tuesday.

Akinyemi-Obe said the initiative would provide targeted monthly food support, beginning with a pilot programme for 10,000 vulnerable older persons.

She said the pilot would cover about 10 states selected across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

“Many of our senior citizens go to bed hungry. Not because Nigeria is poor, but because they have been forgotten,” she said.

According to her, many elderly Nigerians, particularly those in rural areas, lack pensions and family support, making it difficult to afford regular meals.

She described the initiative as a social contract to feed dignity, to feed hope, and to feed our fathers and mothers.

Akinyemi-Obe said the programme would be transparent, traceable and dignified, assuring that beneficiaries will not have to beg to access food.

She said that NSCC would deploy its community structures and data systems to prevent fraud and diversion.

The director-general said the initiative represented President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope vision for inclusive social protection and would take support from policy to grassroots communities.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Food Card Nigeria Ltd., Charles Folayan, said the programme aligned with government’s emphasis on welfare, social protection and food security.

Folayan said relevant government agencies, donor agencies, development partners, non-governmental organisations and philanthropies would support the initiative.

He said that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction were among relevant government institutions.

According to him, funds from participating sources will be coordinated by the National Senior Citizens Centre.

Folayan said that the programme would come at no cost to beneficiaries, although implementation would involve personnel, transportation and other operational expenses.

He described the Food Card as a secure electronic food-benefit transfer system designed to provide consistent and accessible food support through digital vouchers.

Folayan said beneficiaries would be electronically verified and access monthly food support from designated centres closest to them.

He said that eligible beneficiaries could receive food packages at their doorsteps where age or mobility challenges made movement difficult.

Folayan said the programme would prioritise affordable, locally sourced food products to stimulate demand for domestic agricultural produce.

He said this would strengthen local food supply chains and contribute to growth in Nigeria’s agricultural and food-processing sectors.

He said the programme would also create employment opportunities for farmers, processors, packaging workers, food-bank personnel, transporters and logistics providers.

Folayan expressed confidence that the initiative would cushion the impact of ongoing economic reforms on senior citizens and ensure they are not left behind.(NAN)

Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman