Food Prices: Presidency Making Suffering Normal – Tweeps Tell Onanuga

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has come under verbal attacks for his claim that food inflation in Nigeria is declining.

Onanuga in a post on his verified X, specifically said that the prices for yam, tomatoes, and other foodstuffs are dropping significantly. In a post on X, he stated, “Food inflation is coming down as prices of yam, tomatoes decline massively,” stressing that a big basket of tomatoes in Ketu market has fallen from N150,000 to between N55,000 and N60,000, while pepper prices have equally decreased from N55,000 to N25,000.

However, his comments have been met with widespread criticisms as many Nigerians questioned his awareness of the market realities.

Some of the Social media users pointedly asked if Onanuga visits the market, with comments like, “Did you go to the market?” and “Are we supposed to celebrate N60k for a basket of tomatoes when it used to be N1,500 to N3,500 before APC came into power?”

This was as some said that while some prices have dropped, the overall cost of living remains high.

One user said; “The drop is nice, but it’s not across the board. Many are still struggling with the high cost of living”.

Another person said; “APC are just making suffering look normal to us.”

The backlash reflects a deep skepticism about the government’s portrayal of economic improvements amidst ongoing financial challenges for many Nigerians.