Taiwo Oyedele, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, has admitted that Nigerian households spend as much as 120 per cent of their income on food amid soaring prices.
Oyedele, who spoke recently at Chatham House in London, said
monthly incomes could no longer sustain many Nigerians, forcing them to borrow
money or rely on relatives to survive.
According to him, a government survey showed that household
spending on food could exceed income, adding that this was why policymakers
could not fold their arms and do nothing.
“In fact, there was a survey we did that shows that up to
120 per cent of household income is spent on food. You borrow food before the
end of the month,” he said.
“That tells you something. As a policymaker, you don’t sit
back and say we don’t have unemployment. You have working poor,” he added.
According to him, the country’s headline inflation, which
stood at 14.63 per cent in September, was falling faster than food inflation,
which was 19.59 per cent.
“Headline inflation is falling faster than the price of a
basket of tomatoes, gari, and beans. And this widens inequality,” he said.
He added that although the country was making significant
efforts to stabilise the macroeconomy, ordinary Nigerians were yet to feel the
impact.
“Macroeconomic stability means little to a mother who still
cannot afford food,” he added.
While National Bureau of Statistics showed that headline
inflation dropped, food inflation increased sharply in September.
Experts have faulted the NBS data, saying the country's real
inflation data is way higher than what it presented.
A financial analyst, Okechukwu Unegbu has been at the
forefront of the criticism of NBS's inflation data.
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