The ActionAid Nigeria in partnership with over 70 organisations, has launched the Movement for the Transformation of Nigeria (MOTION) to eradicate poverty in the country.
The launch in Abuja followed a World Bank report indicating that 138 million Nigerians are living in multidimensional poverty.
Speaking at the launch and a protest rally, which coincided with the International Day for Poverty Eradication, the Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Andrew Mamedu, said the movement aims to hold the government accountable for reducing the nation’s poverty rate.
The hundreds of the protesters, mostly youths, took to the streets of Abuja, the nation’s capital, protesting rising cost of living in the country and an end to social and institutional poverty.
The protest was also reportedly held simultaneously in Lagos, Yola, Yobe, Nasarawa and other parts of the country.
Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: ‘Our pots are empty because the system is broken!’; ‘We march not just for food but for justice, dignity and equality’; ‘President Tinubu, we cannot eat promises! Feed us with Justice and Good Governance!’; ‘We beat our pots today because hunger beats us every day!’; ‘Empty Pots, Empty Promises! We can’t cook hope!’, among others.
Mamedu noted that the World Bank’s statistics mean that four times the population of Ghana—about 30 million people—are poor in Nigeria.
“MOTION has come today to create awareness, raise consciousness, and get citizens to hold our government accountable,” Mamedu said.
He added that peaceful protests were held simultaneously across six states to remind the government of its unfulfilled promises. He said, “Our pots are empty—empty promises, empty campaigns—they are not being fulfilled.”
The AAN boss criticised Nigeria’s ballooning budgets, noting that since 1999, the national budget has increased from N299 billion to N54 trillion, about a 150-fold rise in recent years.
“Despite this, poverty levels have worsened—from 52.5 million Nigerians living in poverty in 1999 to 139 million in 2025,” Mamedu said.
He questioned where the savings from fuel subsidy removal were being directed and called for greater accountability from state and local governments regarding resource utilisation.
Mamedu stated: “This protest will not be a one-off activity,” Mamedu said. “We urge Nigerians to come out with their pots and pans to remind the government that the people are hungry.
“In 2018, ActionAid Nigeria and other Civil Society Organisations were deeply involved and could report appropriately how funds were disbursed to beneficiaries.
“The government should also give opportunity to civil society organisations and media to carry out social audits on the people and households reached.”
Other demands made included; addressing gaps in the electoral process including independent appointment of the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Convener of MOTION, Hauwa Mustapha said the movement’s goal is for citizens to unite and demand an end to suffering in a nation blessed with abundance.
“We have no business having 139 million Nigerians waking up without knowing where their next meal will come from.
“We have no reason to have 11 million children on the streets, hungry and unschooled, in a country endowed with vast agricultural resources,” Mustapha said.
Also, human rights lawyer and activist, Mr Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who addressed the protesters virtually said Nigerians have no business being hungry.
His words: “Today’s gathering carries a double significance. We are here to witness the formal launch of the Movement for the Transformation of Nigeria.
“A coalition of courageous citizens determined to end the cycle of bad government and structural poverty that has claimed our country.
“When we speak of social maltreatment, we refer to the denial of basic necessities, food, shelter, education, healthcare, and employment, which further end the majority of our people who live a life of needless suffering.
“When we speak of institutional maltreatment, we speak of the abuse, neglect, and inefficiency that have become endemic in the organs of state power, from the police station to the courts, from the ministries to our political sphere.”
He said that ending maltreatment, therefore, begins with reclaiming the idea that the Nigerian citizen is not a subject to be pitied, but a rights holder to be respected.