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Cost of healthy diet stood at N1,041 in May – NBS
The National Average Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) per adult a day stood at N1,041 in May 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.
The NBS revealed this in its CoHD report for May 2024 released on Friday in Abuja.
The bureau said that the CoHD in May increased by one per cent compared to the N1,035 recorded in April.
The NBS said the CoHD was the least expensive combination of locally available items that met globally consistent food-based dietary guidelines.
It said it was used as a measure of physical and economic access to healthy diets.
“This is a lower bound (or floor) of the cost per adult per day excluding the cost of transportation and meal preparation.”
The bureau said that to compute the CoHD indicator, the following data on Retail Food Prices, Food Composition Data, and Healthy Diet Standard were required.
The NBS also said that in May, the average CoHD was highest in the South-West at N1,189 per adult per day, followed by the South-East at N1,190 per day.
It said the lowest average CoHD was recorded in the North-West at N919 per adult per day.
The NBS further said that at the state level Ebonyi, Abia and Anambra recorded the highest CoHD at N1,225, N1,215, and N1,205, respectively.
The bureau said Kano recorded the lowest CoHD at N898, followed by Jigawa at N899, and Yobe and Katsina at N906.
The NBS said CoHD had steadily increased since the first CoHD report by the bureau in October 2023.
“The CoHD in May 2024 is 32 per cent higher than what was recorded in December 2023 at N786 and one per cent higher than CoHD in April 2024, which was N1,035.
“The food groups that have driven the increases in CoHD the most are starchy staples, legumes, nuts and seeds, and animal source foods.
“On the other hand, vegetables and fruits recorded the lowest increase in price on a month-on-month basis.”
The report added that animal-source foods were the most expensive food group recommendation to meet in May, accounting for 36 per cent of the total CoHD to provide 13 per cent of the total calories.
It noted that fruits and vegetables were the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie.
“They accounted for 11 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, of the total CoHD while providing only seven per cent and five per cent of total calories in the Healthy Diet Basket.
“Legumes, nuts and seeds were the least-expensive food group on average, at seven per cent of the total cost.’’
The report also says that in recent months, the CoHD had risen faster than general inflation and food inflation.
“However, the CoHD and the food Consumer Price Index (CPI) are not directly comparable.
“The CoHD includes fewer items and is measured in Naira per day, while the food CPI is a weighted index.”
The NBS said the policy implications of these results would foster collaboration among a wide range of stakeholders, such as policymakers, researchers and civil society actors that focused on food security.
“These stakeholders will devise strategies that tackle access, availability, and affordability of healthy diet effectively.
“Also future research incorporating income can also be used to determine the proportion and number of the population that are unable to afford a healthy diet,” the report said.
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE, has said that the recent executive order by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on zero import duties on pharmaceuticals will crash product prices.
Muda Yusuf, the director of CPPE, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
The Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, announced that President Tinubu had signed an executive order to introduce zero tariffs, excise duties, and Value Added Tax on specialised machinery, equipment and pharmaceutical raw materials to bolster local production of essential healthcare products.
Reacting to the development, CPPE stated that the measure will boost domestic production of pharmaceutical products, reduce the cost of medications, improve access to healthcare and positively impact the well-being of citizens.
The economic think tank said Nigeria needs similar executive orders for agriculture, agrochemicals and agro-allied industries to curb the surging food inflation.
It stated that similar interventions in the energy sector and the iron and steel sector would aid the construction industry and reduce construction costs for housing and infrastructure.
“We also need fiscal policy protection to support domestic investments in petroleum refineries to conserve foreign exchange, create jobs, and deepen backward integration,” he said.
CPPE urged the presidency to ensure compliance by the MDAs with these executive orders in the spirit of current efforts to boost domestic production, grow domestic talents and reform the economy.
The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) says account names discrepancies in Bank Verification Number (BVN) linked alternate account of some defunct Heritage Bank customers is delaying the payment of their insured deposits.
Mr Bello Hassan, the Managing Director of NDIC told the newsmen on Sunday in Abuja.
Hassan said the corporation had paid substantial amount to depositors of the defunct bank without BVN account linked issues.
He called on depositors of the bank who were yet to receive their insured deposit credit alert to visit the NDIC’s website and complete their verification forms for their payment.
The managing director said the verification would also include depositors without BVN alternate account.
”We have already commenced the payment of customers since June 6.
”We have paid substantial amount to the customers.
”What we leverage in making the payment is BVN of customers. We trace alternate accounts in other banks and pay them their insured amounts.
”There are some that we have challenges linking up because of some discrepancies between the names and others.
”We are calling on customers that have not received their alerts in their alternate accounts to come forward and complete their verification forms so that we can pay them,” he said.
On payment of depositors with more than five million naira with the bank, Hassan said they would be paid liquidation dividend.
According to him, NDIC have already commenced the process of disposing the physical buildings and also set the process in motion to make sure that we recover the loans and advances that were granted the bank.
”That is what we use in paying those liquidation dividends.
”We are not going to wait until we recover everything, no.
”As we recover, we will also advertise to say that we will pay liquidation dividends so that concerned depositors will be on the look out for alerts in their accounts,” Hassan said.
NAN reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on June 3 revoked the banking licence of Heritage Bank Plc.
CBN said the decision was made due to the bank’s failure to improve its financial performance, posing a threat to financial stability.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged Mr. Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), “to account for and explain the whereabouts of the over N100 billion ‘dirty and bad notes’ and ‘other large sum of cash awaiting examination’ which are kept in various branches of the CBN.”
SERAP said the allegations are documented in the latest annual report recently published by the Auditor-General of the Federation.
SERAP also urged him to “explain the whereabouts of the N7.2 billion budgeted for the construction of the CBN Dutse branch in 2010 and the N4.8 billion budgeted for the renovation of the CBN Abeokuta branch in 2009, and to publish the names of the contractors who collected the money but failed to complete the projects.”
SERAP urged him “to explain the whereabouts of the allegedly missing outstanding loan of N1.2 billion granted to the Enugu state government in 2015 and the outstanding loan of N1.9 billion granted to the Anambra state government between 2015 and 2016 and to fully recover and remit the public funds to the treasury.”
SERAP also urged him “to refer these grave violations of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended], the CBN Act and the country’s national and international anticorruption obligations to appropriate anticorruption agencies for investigation and prosecution, as appropriate, and the recovery of the public funds.”
In the letter dated 29 June 2024 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “These grim allegations by the Auditor-General suggest grave violations of the public trust, the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, the CBN Act, and national and international anticorruption obligations.”
SERAP said, “These grave violations also reflect a failure of CBN accountability more generally and are directly linked to the institution’s persistent failure to comply with its Act and to uphold the principles of transparency and accountability.”
According to SERAP, “These grave violations have seriously undermined the ability of the CBN to effectively discharge its statutory functions and the public trust and confidence in the bank. The CBN ought to be committed to transparency and accountability in its operations.”
The letter, read in part: “We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within 7 days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions to compel you and the CBN to comply with our request in the public interest.”
“Explaining the whereabouts of the missing public funds, publishing the names of those suspected to be responsible and ensuring that they are brought to justice and the full recovery of any missing public funds would serve the public interest and end the impunity of perpetrators.”
“According to the recently published 2020 audited report by the Auditor General of the Federation (AGF), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has since 2017 been keeping over N100 billion [N100,672,999,000.00] ‘dirty and bad notes’, and other large sum of cash awaiting examination in various branches of the CBN.”
The Auditor-General fears that the ‘dirty and bad notes’ initially planned to be destroyed may have been ‘be diverted and re-injected into the economy.’”
“The CBN in August 2010 also reportedly budgeted N7.2 billion [N7,286,500,476.76] for the construction of Dutse branch building. The Dutse branch was due to be completed in November 2012 but the contractors have failed to complete the project.”
“The Auditor-General is concerned that the project may have been ‘awarded to incompetent contractor,’ and wants the ‘job completed without further delay.’”
“The CBN in 2009 reportedly budgeted N4.8 billion [N4,812,608,028.10] for the renovation of the CBN Abeokuta branch. The Abeokuta branch was due to be completed in 2012 but the contractors have failed to complete the project.”
“There is no significant renovation work on the site, several years after the proposed completion date. The Auditor-General is concerned that the project may have been ‘awarded to incompetent contractor,’ and wants the ‘job completed without further delay.’”
“The CBN also reportedly failed to account for the missing outstanding loan of N1.2 billion [N1,294,453,887.83] granted to the Enugu state government in 2015 and the outstanding loan of N1.9 billion [N1,994,383,561.64] granted to the Anambra state government between 2015 and 2016.”
“The Auditor-General fears the public funds may have been diverted. He wants the money fully recovered and remitted to the treasury.”
“Paragraph 708 of the Financial Regulations 2009 provides that, ‘on no account should payment be made for services not yet performed or for goods not yet supplied.’”
“Section 35(2) of the Public Procurement Act 2007 provides that, ‘once a mobilization fee has been paid to any supplier or contractor, no further payment shall be made to the supplier or contractor without an interim performance certificate.”
“Section 16(6) of the Public Procurement Act states that ‘all bidders shall possess the necessary professional and technical qualifications to carry out particular procurements; the financial capacity and adequate personnel to perform the obligations of the procurement contracts.’”
“SERAP notes that Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution requires public institutions to abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.” Section 13 of the Constitution imposes clear responsibility on the CBN to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the constitution.”
“Paragraph 3112(ii) of the Financial Regulations 2009 provides that, “Where a public officer fails to account for government revenue, such officer shall be surcharged for the full amount involved and such officer shall be handled over to either the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).”
“Nigeria has made legally binding commitments under the UN Convention against Corruption to ensure accountability in the management of public resources. Articles 5 and 9 of the UN Convention against Corruption also impose legal obligations on the CBN to ensure proper management of public affairs and public funds.”
“Nigerians have the right to know the whereabouts of the public funds. Taking the recommended measures would advance the right of Nigerians to restitution, compensation and guarantee of non-repetition.”
“The Nigerian Constitution, Freedom of Information Act, and the country’s anti-corruption and human rights obligations rest on the principle that citizens should have access to information regarding their public institutions’ activities.”
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