Nigerians Spend Over Half of Their Earnings On Food

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A report by an international e-commerce organization has found that the average Nigerian household spends about 59% of its income on food. This is the highest in the world - significantly higher than the global average of 11%. Nigeria's situation is worse than other countries with high spending on food such as Kenya (56.1%). Picodi noted that an average Nigerian spends U.S.$62 monthly on food. This amount is higher than Nigeria's minimum wage of N30,000. Nigeria's inflation has remained at double digits since 2016, with a significant impact on household spending, even as governments across states struggle with backlogs of salaries and pensions. Food inflation has risen to 24% in July, prompting President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on food insecurity. New Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr Betta Edu has expressed the federal government's commitment to lift 133 million Nigerians out of poverty. The minister, who described as unacceptable the alarming rate of poverty in the country, said all hands must be on deck to address the situation.