Economy
Vendors Lament as Cost of Key Jollof Rice Ingredients Soars 37.4%
By Bliss Okperan, Adedapo Adesanya
The cost of cooking a pot of jollof rice, one of the most consumed foods daily in Nigeria, has surged by 37.4 per cent, according to research carried out by Business Post.
Using market data and the most recent food price watch by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), major food items in making the delicacy, including rice, groundnut oil, tomatoes, and onions, among others have recorded a massive increase within the past year, making it hard for the average Nigerian to survive.
According to NBS, 1 kilogram of Rice cost N757.06 in 2023 as against N471.42 in the same period of 2022, indicating a 60.6 per cent increase, as 1kg of Groundnut oil hit N1,496.17 in 2023 as against N1113.33, indicating a 34.4 per cent increase. The price of 1kg of tomatoes was recorded at N565.69 in 2023 versus N445.12, showing a 27.1 per cent increase in the past year and 1kg of onions now cost N515.59, a 28.9 per cent rise from N397.18 in the preceding year.
Using these four food items, preparing the meal would cost around N2,400 to make a pot of the delicacy last year, but with surging costs as a result of biting food inflation, this has risen to N3,330.
Complementary foods to jollof rice have also seen a rise with a bunch of ripe plantains now selling for an average price of N586.43, in contrast to N345.90, 12 months ago, which indicates a 69.5 per cent increase.
Frozen chicken, which previously retailed at N2,569.63 in 2022 recorded a 23.6 per cent increase as it jumped to N3,126.7 per cent and chicken wings cost N1,630.58 in 2023 as against N1,338.82 in 2022, indicating a 21.8 per cent increase.
For fish lovers, they saw 1 kg of frozen Titus fish surge by 22.4 per cent to N2,045.95 against N1,671.45 while the cost of buying one unit of Agric eggs cost N96.00 against its previous cost of N75.07 which indicates 27.9 increase.
Vendors Lament Cost Effect
Nigerians have continued to lament the growing prices of food, fuel, and other daily needs with the Dollar rate triggering a ripple effect in the cost of living. For food vendors, it has been challenging for their businesses.
According to Ms Gift Ogidi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EatAtYinz Restaurant, “Things are so expensive these days.”
She said the cost of tomatoes has almost tripled and has affected the cost of her soup varieties.
“I bought tomatoes for N6,000 in September and when I wanted to buy that same quantity this month, I was told it is now N15,000. After much bargaining, I bought it for N12,000. This is the same with other foodstuffs. This has affected the price of my meals as I have to review my prices. The annoying thing is that my customers would not understand and sometimes, I run at a loss because I am trying to please my customers.”
For her, “It is painful,” because “I cannot compromise the quality of my food but with the way things are going, Food vendors are left with two choices, reduce the quality and quantity of meals per serving or litre (depending on the package you offer) or increase the prices, well I went with the latter and trust me, business has been slow.”
Also, a street food seller in the Egbeda area of Lagos State identified as Bose, who spoke with this newspaper, said she was considering leaving the business because of the high cost of food items.
“Can you believe that a kilo of frozen turkey is now between N5,200 and N5,500, and chicken is between N3,000 and N3,200, depending on where you buy it. Fish is now also expensive. We find it difficult to make a profit these days,” she said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Finance has directed the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to suspend enforcement of disputed recapitalisation fees and a directive requiring NICON Insurance Limited and the Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation to transfer their entire fresh capital into an escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The ministry also demanded a detailed response and legal justification from NAICOM over assessments of N305 million against NICON and N375 million against Nigeria Re as part of the ongoing insurance industry recapitalisation exercise.
The directive was contained in a letter dated August 6, 2026, signed by the Permanent Secretary, Finance, Mr Raymond Omachi, on behalf of the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Taiwo Oyedele.
The letter followed a July 27 petition by NICON and Nigeria Re over the implementation of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act, 2025. The companies challenged NAICOM’s demand for a one per cent capital injection fee, alongside processing and verification charges under the commission’s Minimum Capital Requirement Guidelines.
They also disputed a directive requiring existing insurance companies to transfer their entire recapitalisation funds into a CBN escrow account, arguing that Section 16(3) of NIIRA 2025 provides for a statutory deposit of only 10 per cent.
According to the Finance Ministry, NICON and Nigeria Re had injected N20 billion and N30 billion respectively into Mudaraba Term Deposit accounts with Lotus Bank, exceeding their adjusted capital requirements of N16 billion and N28 billion.
The companies also deposited N2.5 billion and N3.5 billion respectively with the CBN as statutory deposits and paid initial fees of N80 million and N75 million.
The ministry said the companies therefore considered themselves compliant with the July 31, 2026 recapitalisation deadline.
“Pending the determination of the petition, the Commission should suspend the enforcement of the contested processing fees, 1 per cent capital injection fee demands, and full-capital escrow transfer directives against NICON Insurance Limited and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation,” the letter stated.
The ministry consequently asked NAICOM to explain the basis and legal justification for the disputed charges and escrow requirement.
The intervention comes amid the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen the capital base of insurance companies and reinsurers, improve their capacity to underwrite larger risks and enhance the sector’s contribution to economic development.
The dispute, however, has raised questions over the extent of NAICOM’s authority to impose additional fees and require existing insurers to place their entire recapitalisation funds in escrow.
The Finance Ministry’s letter did not disclose whether NAICOM had responded to the issues raised. It also referenced an alleged N500 million demand and an additional N180 million capitalisation charge in its subject, although the substantive section specifically put the disputed assessments at N305 million for NICON and N375 million for Nigeria Re.
For now, enforcement of the contested fees and full-capital escrow directive against the two state-owned insurers has been suspended pending NAICOM’s response and legal clarification.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four price decliners overpowered the two price gainers recorded at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, August 10, weakening it by 0.32 per cent at the close of transactions.
The advancers were led by Food Concepts Plc, which chalked up 25 Kobo to sell at N2.75 per unit versus the previous price of N2.50 per unit, and Mass Telecoms Innovation Plc appreciated by 3 Kobo to 35 Kobo per share from 32 Kobo per share.
However, 11 Plc lost N24.75 to close at N222.75 per unit versus N247.50 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc declined by N3.09 to N145.00 per share from N148.09 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went down by 5 Kobo to 50 Kobo per unit from 55 Kobo per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc slid by 1 Kobo to N2.27 per share from N2.28 per share.
As a result, the market capitalisation contracted by N8.94 billion to N2.798 trillion from the previous session’s N2.807 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) retreated by 14.9 points to 4,663.18 points from 4,678.08 points.
The trading data showed that the volume of securities exchanged by investors rose by 108.9 per cent to 1.1 million units from 535,7560 units, and the value of securities jumped by 69.5 per cent to N10.2 million from N6.0 million, while the number of deals executed receded by 2.8 per cent to 35 deals from 36 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc closed the trading session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 77.0 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week on a positive note, appreciating against the US Dollar by N5.55 or 0.41 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, August 10, to N1,360.14/$1 from N1,365.69/$1.
The domestic currency also improved its exchange rate against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by 67 Kobo to sell at N1,838.50/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,839.17/£1, and gained N4.64 against the Euro to quote at N1,571.09/€1, in contrast to last Friday’s N1,575.73/€1.
However, the Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the black market and the GTBank forex counter on Monday at N1,400/$1 and N1,371/$1, respectively.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX turnover fell by 46 per cent yesterday to $213.845 million from the $393.477 million recorded at the close of trading on Friday.
The decline came despite a sharp increase in the volume of foreign exchange transactions executed during the session, indicating weaker participation by high-ticket FX customers and other major market participants.
The lower turnover suggests reduced demand for FX among large-scale buyers, even as market makers continued to facilitate transactions through the NAFEM window, with the number of FX traded rising to 182 from 102.
In the cryptocurrency market, traders and investors took profit as broader markets’ focus shifted to rising bond yields, higher oil prices and upcoming US inflation data.
Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.2 per cent to $0.1873, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 2.6 per cent to $1,873.43, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 2.3 per cent to $1.01, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 1.8 per cent to $63,949.22, Solana (SOL) crashed by 1.3 per cent to $75.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) tumbled by 0.6 per cent to $599.49.
But TRON (TRX) gained 0.5 per cent to trade at $0.3314, and Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.2 per cent to $0.0700, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
