Food, Transport, Electricity More Important to Nigerians Than Luxuries—CBN

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigerians now prioritise food, transportation, medical expenses, and electricity above luxuries like house owning and purchase of vehicles, according to the latest survey by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The report tagged Households Expectation Survey by the apex, consumers surveyed said they would spend their incomes only on basic items such as food and other household items, education, transportation, electricity and medical expenses.

Households sampled in the study also expressed pessimism over the rising costs of living in the country, and have projected that costs of transportation, house purchase, purchase of car/vehicle, rents and medical expenses will experience an increase over the next six months.

The CBN’s overall Consumer Confidence Index and outlook is attributed to the outlook of consumers on three key dimensions: Economic Conditions, Family Financial Situation, and Family Income.

The CBN study said, “More consumers believe that the cost of transportation, house purchase, purchase of car/vehicle, rents and medical expenses will experience increase over the next six months in the following order.

“Households anticipate spending their income on basic expenditure items like Food & Other household items, Education, Transportation, Electricity and Medical Expenses across all time periods reviewed.

“However, they do not intend to spend a substantial portion of their income on items like purchase of House, Car/vehicle for the period under review.”

The survey also indicated that households do not intend to spend their earnings on the purchase of motor vehicles and buildings & landed properties within the months under review.

“The Buying Condition Index for big-ticket items like Consumer Durables, Motor Vehicles and Buildings & Landed Properties, indicated that most respondents consider the current month unfavourable for purchasing these items. Consumers also do not think that the next three and six months are ideal periods to buy these items.”

This is the latest indicator of a tough reality facing Nigerians with economic challenges affecting daily life. Businesses are also feeling pressures as well, according to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG).