Nigerians have expressed strong opposition to the Presidency’s recent claims that food prices have been decreasing. Rinsola Abiola, the Senior Special Assistant on Citizenship and Leadership to President Bola Tinubu, made these assertions during an appearance on AIT Weekend Show on Saturday, August 10.
She stated that online vendors had confirmed a reduction in food prices, attributing this to the federal government’s efforts to tackle economic hardship and hunger.
However, many Nigerians took to social media, particularly the X platform, to voice their disagreement, arguing that these claims did not align with the reality in local markets.
DJ Switch, a prominent figure from the #EndSARS protests, initiated the conversation by conducting a poll on Friday, asking if people had noticed any reduction in food prices. The responses overwhelmingly contradicted Abiola’s statement, with users sharing their experiences of stable or even rising costs.
Abiola had mentioned a significant drop in the price of tomatoes, from ₦180,000 to ₦35,000, but an X user, Chinedu Okoli, responded that this decrease was due to the harvest season, not government policies.
Other users echoed similar concerns. IBEZYMAKO (@Bis_realibeh) noted that transportation costs had increased due to high fuel prices, putting additional strain on household budgets. Ozagu Enterprises (@OzaguE98786) criticized the government for spreading “deceptive propaganda,” listing substantial price hikes in staples such as semolina, beans, yam, and rice.
Joseph Olawale Bamidele (@olawale_bam) and Daniel Alabi (@alabi_daniel) highlighted that high fuel prices continued to drive up the cost of food, making the claim of falling prices seem far from reality.
Chinedu Okoli also pointed out that the temporary dip in prices for perishable goods like tomatoes and peppers was merely seasonal and warned that prices would likely increase again once the harvest period ends.
Overall, the consensus among Nigerians on social media was clear: food prices remained high, and any reported decreases were not being felt by the average person.
