Senators’ Yuletide Gifts Ignite National Debate on Governance

In the harmattan hush of December, 2025 as carols floated over cracked roads and empty pots, convoys of trucks arrived senatorial constituencies with rice, cash and cows. Senators became Santas overnight, hailed as saviours by the hungry, scorned by critics who saw not compassion, but politics wrapped in festive red.  Sunday Aborisade reports.

As Christmas lights flickered across towns and villages in late 2025, another familiar ritual unfolded across Nigeria’s senatorial districts. Trucks loaded with rice, beans, garri, spaghetti, sugar, cows and assorted hampers rolled into community squares, party secretariats and traditional palaces.

In some places, envelopes of cash accompanied the food items. At the centre of these Yuletide gestures were Nigerian federal lawmakers who said they were responding to deepening economic hardship and the moral call of the season.

From Kogi to Ekiti, Imo to Osun, Ogun to Borno, and other states in Nigeria, lawmakers reached out to constituents with seasonal gifts aimed at easing the burden of Christmas celebrations.

While beneficiaries welcomed the interventions as timely relief in a difficult period, critics condemned the practice as a symbol of governance failure and an overreliance on what has derisively been called “stomach infrastructure.”

The contrasting reactions once again brought into focus a perennial question in Nigeria’s democracy: should elected representatives prioritise short-term relief or long-term empowerment?

Among the lawmakers who stood out during the festive season was Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan of Kogi Central. In a large-scale outreach that spanned the district’s five local government areas, including Adavi, Ajaokuta, Okene, Okehi and Ogori-Magongo, the senator distributed over 2,000 bags of 25-kilogramme rice to constituents.

The exercise, held simultaneously across the LGAs, targeted women associations, youth groups, religious bodies, the elderly and other vulnerable residents.

Akpoti-Uduaghan said the initiative was driven by compassion and the need for leadership to have a direct impact on people’s lives.

During the distribution, Akpoti-Uduaghhan said, “Christmas is a season of love, sacrifice and shared joy. At a time when many households are struggling with the cost of living, it is important that we stand with our people in practical ways.”

Community leaders who supervised the exercise described it as one of the largest Christmas rice distributions ever witnessed in the area.

A traditional ruler in Okene noted that the scale and reach of the intervention showed “genuine concern for the grassroots,” while a youth representative in Adavi praised its inclusiveness, saying party affiliation did not matter.

Beneficiaries described the gesture as timely and compassionate, offering prayers for the senator and expressing confidence in what they termed responsive representation.

In Imo State, Senator OsitaIzunaso of Imo West (Orlu) senatorial district distributed bags of rice across the district’s 12 local government areas.

Speaking after the exercise at his Owerri residence, Izunaso said the distribution was part of his efforts to ensure that food scarcity did not significantly affect his constituents during the festive season.

Beyond Christmas handouts, Izunaso pointed to his longer-term interventions through the Mkpapando Foundation, which he said had empowered thousands of Orlu indigenes in mechanised farming, fishery, poultry and palm plantation, including the provision of seedlings and take-off grants.

In Ekiti Central, Senate Leader, Senator OpeyemiBamidele combined food distribution with cash support. According to a statement signed by his Senior Legislative Assistant, GbengaBanji, Bamidele distributed N50 million in cash alongside thousands of bags of rice and beans across the state’s 177 wards.

Each ward reportedly received N250,000, while each local government area got N200,000. In addition, 5,380 bags of rice, 3,350 bags of beans, 5,000 bags of salt and 50,000 two-kilogramme packs of garri were distributed, with the lawmaker stressing that the exercise cut across party lines and was strictly supervised to prevent diversion.

In Ogun West, Senator Solomon Adeola said thousands of 50-kilogramme bags of rice, cows and other hampers were shared as part of his annual yuletide goodwill. Describing the practice as a tradition, Adeola said sharing goods needed for festivities was part of effective representation.

Similar scenes played out in the North-East. Senator Mohammed Tahir Monguno of Borno North flagged off the distribution of rice, sugar and spaghetti to 4,704 constituents, while Senator Ali Ndume of Borno South provided relief materials including wrappers, blankets and buckets, as well as cash, to vulnerable households and internally displaced persons.

In Benue South, Senator Abba Moro began distributing palliatives to communities in Apa and Agatu local government areas affected by flooding, while in Kogi West, Senator Sunday Karimi distributed thousands of food items to mark Christmas.

Perhaps one of the largest single interventions came from Osun East, where Senator AdenigbaFadahunsi distributed over 20,000 bags of rice and millions of naira in cash across the 10 local government areas of the Ife-Ijesa zone.

The distribution, which cut across party lines, reached market women, okada riders, religious leaders, traditional institutions and support groups.

Speaking via party structures, Fadahunsi pledged to sustain such interventions, while APC State Chairman, Hon TajudeenLawal, commended the senator’s dedication to constituent welfare and urged continued prayers for his success.

Voices of Gratitude from the Grassroots

For many beneficiaries, the senators’ gestures came at a critical time. With inflation and food prices biting hard, especially in rural areas, Christmas celebrations would have been muted without external support.

Women leaders in several communities described the rice and cash as a lifeline that helped families cook festive meals.

Elderly beneficiaries said the relief reduced their dependence on relatives, while youth groups welcomed what they saw as inclusive interventions that transcended party politics.

In Kogi Central, residents said the December 23, 2025 distribution strengthened confidence in responsive governance.

Similar sentiments were echoed in Ekiti, Osun and parts of the South-East and North-East, where beneficiaries framed the gestures as empathy in action rather than political theatre.

Supporters of the lawmakers also argued that such programmes were part of constituency outreach and an efficient way to reach the grassroots, especially in the absence of robust social welfare systems.

Yet, even as rice bags were being shared, criticism simmered online and in policy circles.

For many commentators, the spectacle of senators distributing food and cash during festive seasons symbolised deeper structural problems in governance.

Critics argued that legislators are elected primarily to make laws, perform oversight and advocate policies that improve citizens’ lives, not to engage in seasonal charity.

To them, the practice reflects a failure of the state to institutionalise social welfare and economic empowerment.

The term “stomach infrastructure” resurfaced prominently, used to describe what opponents see as short-term handouts designed to secure loyalty rather than address unemployment, poor infrastructure and low productivity.

Some critics also questioned the timing and optics of such gestures, especially against the backdrop of past controversies over lawmakers’ allowances. To them, distributing food amid widespread hardship appeared insensitive and even patronising.

Others went further, alleging, without evidence, that the items were purchased with public funds meant for constituency projects or local government development, arguing that such resources would be better invested in enduring infrastructure, skills acquisition centres or small-scale industrial support.

Defenders of the senators countered that, in a country grappling with economic shocks, immediate relief cannot be dismissed. They argued that while long-term empowerment is crucial, vulnerable populations also need short-term support to survive difficult periods.

Some lawmakers pointed to their broader records of intervention, such as farming empowerment, education support, healthcare initiatives and infrastructure projects, as evidence that Christmas distributions were only one component of their engagement with constituents.

The debate, however, remains unresolved. While beneficiaries continue to applaud the compassion behind the gestures, policy advocates insist that Nigeria must move beyond episodic generosity to structured empowerment that creates jobs, boosts productivity and restores dignity.

As the echoes of Christmas celebrations fade, the bags of rice have been consumed, the cash spent, and the hampers emptied. What lingers is a familiar national conversation about representation, responsibility and the kind of governance Nigerians truly deserve.

For now, senators’ yuletide largesse stands at the intersection of gratitude and grievance. It is applauded as timely relief by those who received it, and condemned as an unsustainable political tactic by those calling for a more enduring path to empowerment.