Healthy Food Becomes Luxury as Cost Rises Across Nigeria consuming most of minimum wage
- BudgIT says the average cost of eating a healthy diet in Nigeria rose by 11.7% to N1,541 per person daily in Q1 2026
- Ekiti, along with Imo and Abia, had the highest cost at N2,091 per day, while Adamawa was the cheapest at N1,004
- In Ekiti, a healthy diet could consume about 89.6% of the N70,000 minimum wage, leaving workers with little for other essential needs
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Legit.ng journalist Victor Enengedi has over a decade's experience covering energy, MSMEs, technology, banking and the economy.
The cost of eating a healthy diet in Nigeria rose sharply in the first quarter of 2026, with households in some southern states facing significantly higher food bills than those in the north.
A new report by BudgIT, a civic technology organisation, showed that Ekiti had the highest daily cost of a healthy diet at N2,091 per person, while Adamawa recorded the lowest at N1,004.
Source: UGC
The findings were contained in BudgIT’s report, “The Price of Survival: Nigeria’s Cost of a Healthy Diet Tracker, Q1 2026,” based on monthly Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
Food costs rise 11.7% as regional gap widens
BudgIT said the national average cost of a healthy diet increased by 11.7% between December 2025 and March 2026, climbing from N1,380 to N1,541 per person per day.
The increase effectively wiped out the 6.4% decline recorded in the final quarter of 2025, when the harvest season temporarily brought some relief to food prices.
BudgIT described the earlier decline as temporary, noting that it represented “seasonal relief, not a structural improvement.”
According to the organisation, tighter food supplies after the harvest season, combined with dry-season pressures, drove prices higher across all food categories during the first quarter.
Taraba recorded the sharpest increase between January and March, with the cost of a healthy diet jumping 49.3%. It was followed by Gombe at 34.1%, Yobe at 29.9%, Cross River at 28.1%, Kano at 27% and Ogun at 26.7%.
However, BudgIT cautioned that percentage increases should be viewed alongside actual naira values. Taraba, for instance, started January with a healthy diet cost of just N769 per person per day—the lowest starting point among the states—making its percentage increase appear particularly large.
Yobe and Oyo also experienced major reversals after recording significant declines in the final quarter of 2025. Yobe’s healthy diet cost fell 18.6% during that period before rising 42.5% between December and March, while Oyo recorded a 19.5% decline before rebounding 40.2%.
Eight states, however, recorded lower costs during the first quarter. Adamawa posted the largest decline at 26.7%, followed by Akwa Ibom at 21.6%, Ondo at 13%, Edo at 12.7%, Borno at 8.3%, the Federal Capital Territory at 6.3%, Rivers at 3.5% and Bayelsa at 0.3%.
Southern states remain most expensive
The report highlighted a persistent regional divide in food affordability, with eight of the 10 cheapest states for a healthy diet located in northern Nigeria, while all 10 most expensive states were in the south.
After Ekiti, the states with the highest daily healthy diet costs were Imo at N2,052, Abia at N1,970, Lagos at N1,910 and Ebonyi at N1,891.
At the other end of the scale, Adamawa had the lowest cost at N1,004 per person per day, followed by the FCT at N1,113, Taraba at N1,149, Borno at N1,244 and Bauchi at N1,273.
BudgIT said the apparent affordability advantage in the north could be narrowing because food costs there are rising faster. The North-West recorded a 17.5% quarterly increase, almost three times the national average.
Source: UGC
The organisation warned that this trend could further worsen household welfare in a region already facing other socioeconomic vulnerabilities.
The rising cost of healthy food is also putting greater pressure on low-income households. In Ekiti, BudgIT estimated that feeding one person a healthy diet at the reported daily cost would consume about 89.6% of the N70,000 national minimum wage.
That would leave roughly N7,261 a month for other essential expenses, including housing, transportation, electricity, education and healthcare.
BudgIT warned that national averages alone could mask significant differences between states and lead to policies that fail to address the realities facing households across the country.
Source: Legit.ng
