THE latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown that as of April 2024, eating healthy food in Nigeria now costs N1,035.
This report is part of The ICIR series, “Tinubu’s one year in office”, read it here.
The NBS’s report on the Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) shows that the new figure is 5.4 per cent higher than the amount recorded in the previous month, March 2024, with N982.
To put this into perspective, anyone in Nigeria would need N64,170 to eat at least two healthy diets daily for a month – 31 days. Nigeria’s minimum wage for workers is currently N30,000.
The ICIR’s further findings showed that as of May 2023, when President Bola Tinubu assumed office, the cost of a healthy diet was N503. With this new data, the price increased by 105.77 per cent in one year.
That is more than double the amount paid to eat a healthy meal one year after Tinubu’s assumption.
According to NBS, animal-source foods were the most expensive food group recommendation to meet in April, accounting for 36 per cent of the total CoHD. Also, fruits and vegetables were the most costly food groups in terms of price per calorie; they accounted for 11 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively.
At the state level Ekiti, Ogun and Osun States recorded the highest costs with N1,483, N1,447, and N1,417 respectively. Kogi and Katsina accounted for the lowest costs with N709, followed by Kaduna and Nasarawa with N756 and N769, respectively.
Meanwhile, at the zonal level, the average CoHD was highest in the South West Zone at N1,406 per day, followed by South East Zone at N1,190 per day.
The lowest average Cost of a Healthy diet was recorded in the North-West Zone with N781 per day.
The ICIR reported how Nigeria’s headline inflation rate increased to 33.69 per cent in April. This was the 11th consecutive rise under Tinubu since he assumed office in May 2023. The food inflation rate for the month under review was 40.53 per cent.
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