‘Crash In Food Prices Shows Economic Policies Working’

The Arewa Think Tank (ATT) has said the recent crash in the prices of foodstuff across the country, particularly in Lagos and Abuja indicated that the nation’s economic policies are working.

The chief convener of ATT, Muhammad Alhaji Yakubu, in a chat with our correspondent in Kaduna yesterday said despite the economic policies of the present administration, no one was appreciating  President Bola Tinubu, but to continue to criticise him.

He appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience with Tinubu for more positive developments in the country.

He said, “We are still pleading with Nigerians to exercise more patience because they will see more positive developments than what they are seeing now.

“What Nigerians need to know in 2025, for the first time since President Tinubu took office in May 2023, is that Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis has started to be on the easy side of life.

“When we followed a recent market survey in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic hub, it showed  that the prices of key food staples declined in February 2025, easing the financial burden on cash-strapped Nigerians who have endured soaring inflation since the 2020 pandemic.”

He said the market survey indicated that a 50kg bag of foreign parboiled rice now sells for N85,000, down from N120,000 five months ago. Local parboiled rice dropped to N95,000 from N105,000 in three months. The price of a big basket of fresh tomatoes plummeted 70 percent, from N120,000 to N35,000.

“Also, a 4-litre paint container of garri now costs N2,500, down from N3,500 five months ago, while a 60kg bag sells for N37,500. A big tuber of yam now sells for N2,500 in Abuja and Onitsha, compared to N5,500 five months ago. In Port Harcourt and Abuja, N1,000 can now buy six to ten pieces of onion, compared to three or four pieces three months ago,” he said.

The convener averred that the drop in the price of beans, yams and garri was a big relief for low-income earners because it had improved every family’s diet.