ON May 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu assumed office as the 16th president of Nigeria, succeeding former president Muhammadu Buhari.
Tinubu, who contested under the All Progressive Party, pulled 8.79 million votes to defeat the other 17 candidates who contested for the seat on February 25, 2023.
The ICIR reported how the votes secured by Tinubu were equivalent to three out of 10 Nigerians who participated in the electioneering process. Further findings also showed that the 2023 election had the lowest turnout since 1999.
However, within one year in office, several policies have been enacted by the president and members of his cabinet which have directly impacted the economy, foremost, increasing indicators, such as inflation rate, food inflation, price of transportation, and prices of crude oil products among others, the ICIR reports as part of the series “Tinubu’s one year in office”.
Very notable, among these policies, was the removal of fuel subsidy while Tinubu was giving his inaugural address. Others include the devaluation of the naira in the foreign exchange market, the introduction of new taxes and increments in tariffs, like electricity.
The ICIR reported how the president introduced several palliative measures to cushion the effect of economic hardship.
For this report, The ICIR monitored socio-economic indicators between May 29, 2023, and April 30, 2024, comparing the figures when the president assumed office to one year after his assumption. Here is a list showing the increase in one year;
- Inflation Rate: When Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, Nigeria’s inflation rate, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was 22.41 per cent. However, consecutively, the figures rose every month to become the highest surpassing the 2005 and 1996 figures. The latest figure shows that the inflation rate is 33.2 per cent as of April 2024.
- Food inflation: In one year, the food inflation rate increased by 15.17 per cent from 24.82 per cent recorded in May 2023 to 40.01 per cent as of March 2024.
- Eating healthy: Also, the cost of eating a healthy diet rose from N503 in May 2023 to N982 in March 2024. This is an increase of 95.23 per cent in one year
- Transportation: The aftermath effect of the petrol subsidy’s removal increased the transportation cost. Before the removal, the average cost of a single journey on a motorcycle was N464.55. When compared after one year, the price increased by 1.6 per cent to N472.16. Also, the cost of a bus journey within a city increased by 46.2 per cent from N649.59 to N969.32. The cost of a bus journey within two states increased by 78.7 per cent from N4002.16 to N7152.97. For air transportation, the cost of a single-route journey increased by 18.7 per cent from N74,948.78 to N88,964.86. Meanwhile, for a single journey on water, the cost from N1,045.15 to N1,384.32, an increase of 32.5 per cent.
- Exchange Rate: When Tinubu assumed office, the naira was exchanged at N461 to 1 dollar ($) but the president took steps to abolish the multiple exchange rate system. This increased the rate by 226.80 per cent to N1510/$1, after consequently rising until February 2024. As of April 204, the average rate was N1215/$1.
- Crude oil products: In one year, there was also an increase in the price of petrol, diesel, kerosene and gas at pump stations. The average price of a litre of petrol rose by 192.63 per cent in one year from N238.11 to N696.79. Also, a litre of diesel rose by 58.85 per cent from N844.28 to N1,341.16. While the price of a litre of kerosene rose from N1,206.05, by 12.30 per cent, to N1,354.40. For 1kg of gas, the price increased by 41.99 per cent from N928.45 to N1,318.32.
Other data indicators
- Budget: Tinubu presented his first budget of N27.5 trillion to the National Assembly in November 2023. The budget was however increased by 4.36 per cent when it was passed in January 2024 to N28.7 trillion. The ICIR reported several stories on frivolous items contained in the budget.
- Federal Allocation: Between June 2023 and February 2024, according to data gathered from NBS, the Federal Allocation Account Committee (FAAC) approved a total of N14.6 trillion to be shared between the three tiers of government.
- Travel: Reports monitored by The ICIR also showed that in one year, the president visited 13 countries within one year. Guinea Bissau and Saudi Arabia were visited twice.
- Insecurities: According to data filtered from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, (ACLED), between June 2023 to the end of April 2024, a total of 7,828 people were killed in various insecurity attacks.
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at jameskennyogunyale@gmail or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames | LinkedIn: Kehinde Ogunyale