BY – Blessing Jonathan
Report from the National Bureau Statistics (NBS) states that Nigerians spent about 98% extra on transportation fare in June 2023, as a result of the fuel subsidy removal by the federal government and the continuous increase in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) price.
In the published report by the Transport Fare Watch Department, NBS analyzed that intro-city public transportation fare went on the average of N1,285.41 in June, from N649.59 which it was in May, 2023.
The report’s breakdown encompasses various transportation methods, such as bus rides within cities with a fixed route and fare per drop, charges for inter-city bus journeys between states on a per-person basis, and other modes of transportation.
“The average fare paid by commuters for bus journeys within the city per drop increased by 97.88 per cent from N649.59 in May 2023 to N1,285.41 in June 2023. On a year-on-year basis, it rose by 120.63 per cent from N582.61 in June 2022.
“In another category, the average fare paid by commuters for bus journey intercity per drop rose to N5,686.49 in June 2023, indicating an increase of 42.09 on a month-on-month basis compared to N4,002.16 in May 2023. On a year-on-year basis, the fare rose by 55.25 per cent from N3,662.87 in June 2022,” the report reads.
On food, NBS report states that Nigerians spent an average of 30% on staple food purchase in June 2023.
“Prices of staple foods consumed every day by Nigerians increased from as low as 8% to as high as 12% on a month-to-month basis and from June 2022 to June 2023, Nigerians paid on average a 30% increase in food prices over the 12-month period.
“On a year-on-year basis, Nigerians paid 32.17% more for a kilogram of rice, Nigeria’s major staple food, in June 2023 than they did in June 2022 when the price was N460.17.
“For tomatoes, the average price per kg rose by 24% from June 2022 to June 2023 to N547.28. On a month-on-month basis, the price of tomato per kg increased from N555.18 to N608.20- a 9.55% spike.”
According to the report, the average cost of 1kg of boneless beef saw a 5.26% rise, going up from N2,520.52 in May to N2,653.02 in June 2023.
“The average cost of 1kg of boneless beef increased by 5.26% from N2,520.52 in May to N2,653.02 in June 2023. On a year-on-year basis, the average cost of the item increased by 27.55% from June 2022 to June 2023.
“The average price of a 1kg tuber of yam surged by 32.85% from June 2022 to June 2023. It recorded an 11.70% increase from May to June 2023.
“The average price for wheat flour per 2kg for June 2023 stood at N1380- a 28% jump from its price as of June 2022,” NBS report reads.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had recently declared a state of emergency on agriculture and food security, and further moved the motion to prioritize food insecurity the National Security Council list.
The Tinubu led administration further revealed plans to quickly address agriculture issues such as farm and farmer security, funding, utilisation of river basins for all year-round agriculture, creation of a commodity exchange board etc, although, they are yet to be implemented.