Food prices rise under Bola Tinubu

When Bola Tinubu took over from Muhammadu Buhari as Nigeria’s president in May 2023, he inherited food inflation as one of his biggest problems.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) pegged the year-on-year food inflation rate at 24.82% for that month, 5.33% points higher than a year before.

Tinubu was facing an uphill battle to arrest the rising inflation, and he was well aware of it. In his inauguration speech, the former Lagos State governor announced many agricultural policies that would address the problem.

He promised to secure rural incomes with commodity exchange boards to guarantee minimal prices for certain crops and animal products. He also planned to launch a nationwide programme for storage facilities to reduce spoilage and waste.

The 72-year-old also announced he would create agricultural hubs across Nigeria to increase production and engage in value-added processing.

“Through these actions, food shall be made more abundant yet less costly. Farmers shall earn more while the average Nigerian pays less,” he said.

More than one year into his presidency, his honeymoon period well and truly over, Tinubu’s efforts to fight food inflation have so far failed to bear fruit.

Nigeria recorded a year-on-year food inflation rate of 40.66% in May 2024, 15.84% points higher than the 24.82% Tinubu met in May 2023.

Following the NBS’ recent release of the June 2024 Selected Food Price Watch report, Pulse Nigeria examined the changes in the average prices of 15 food items over the past year, between June 2023, the president’s first full month in office, and last month.

Only three of the 15 selected food items experienced year-on-year inflation less than 100%. The lowest was frozen chicken with only 71.07% inflation in one year, from selling for an average of ₦3,063.37 in June 2023 to ₦5,240.60 in June 2024.

The most alarming inflation affected tomatoes which experienced a 320.67% increase. When Tinubu took over in Aso Rock, 1kg of tomatoes cost Nigerians an average of ₦547.28, but sold for ₦2,302.26 one year later, according to NBS data.

Here’s how the prices of these food items changed in Tinubu’s first year in office:

Food items	June 2023	June 2024	Inflation rate
Brown beans (1 kg)	₦651.12	₦2,292.76	252.13%
Boneless beef (1 kg)	₦2,663.83	₦5,400.54	102.74%
Bread (500g)	₦593.56	₦1,289.13	117.19%
Ofada rice (1 kg)	₦645.51	₦1,828.84	183.31%
Fresh catfish (1 kg)	₦1,694.85	₦3,615.19	113.30%
Egg	₦91.46	₦168.51	84.25%
Evaporated tinned milk (170g)	₦444.93	₦801.49	80.14%
Frozen chicken (1 kg)	₦3,063.37	₦5,240.60	71.07%
White garri (1 kg)	₦403.15	₦1,135.51	181.66%
Irish potato (1 kg)	₦623.75	₦2,423.27	288.50%
Ripe plantain (1 kg)	₦450.19	₦1,417.13	214.79%
Agric rice (1 kg)	₦677.16	₦1,735.88	156.35%
Sweet potato (1 kg)	₦318.53	₦976.96	206.71%
Tomato (1 kg)	₦547.28	₦2,302.26	320.67%
Yam tuber	₦510.77	₦2,021.55	295.79%

The individual inflation rates for the selected food items look even more outrageous when compared to the rates for the same items in the final year of Buhari’s administration.

The food item with the most inflation in that period was evaporated tinned milk with 48.59% inflation, significantly lower than the lowest inflated item in Tinubu’s first year.

Here’s how the prices of these food items changed in Buhari’s final year in office:

Items	May 2022	May 2023	Inflation rate
Brown beans (1 kg)	₦536.91	₦629.75	17.29%
Boneless beef (1 kg)	₦2,029.59	₦2,520.52	24.19%
Bread (500g)	₦421.64	₦550.65	30.6%
Ofada rice (1 kg)	₦515.04	₦612.05	18.84%
Fresh catfish (1 kg)	₦1,389.70	₦1,610.63	15.90%
Egg	₦65.65	₦89.17	35.83%
Evaporated tinned milk (170g)	₦258.55	₦384.19	48.59%
Frozen chicken (1 kg)	₦2,415.53	₦2,889.99	19.64%
White garri (1 kg)	₦326.85	₦371.42	13.64%
Irish potato (1 kg)	₦460.07	₦585.10	27.18%
Ripe plantain	₦315.84	₦425.79	34.81%
Agric rice (1 kg)	₦507.18	₦640.36	26.26%
Sweet potato (1 kg)	₦234.69	₦297.35	26.70%
Tomato (1 kg)	₦423.48	₦498.34	17.68%
Yam tuber	₦372.23	₦457.25	22.84%