Traders and residents of Ibadan and economic experts have decried rising cost of goods, especially food items, saying that the 22.04 per cent inflation rate is threatening.
The traders and residents, while speaking with The Guardian in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, lamented that the high cost of goods had eroded their income, purchasing power and real value of their earnings, saying that prices of goods have astronomically got out of hand.
A trader, Miss Oluwademilade Dorcas Adesetan, said that a bottle of groundnut cost N800 in the fourth quarter of last year but now goes for N1,200 while a crate of soft drink that she bought N1,400 now goes for N1,850.
A university student, Miss Feranmi Adeleke, who lamented the high cost of food items, said she bought a Congo of garri at N300 last time but it is now N550.
Also, an Ibadan-based lecturer, Dr. (Mrs.) John Imah-Harry, said the inflation rate was too conservative.
A Biochemistry lecturer said she used to buy a bag of rice N33,000 but now buying at N47,000, adding that a bag of beans she bought N38,000 last year is now N48,000.
The university teacher, however, urged the government to address insecurity in the farmland.
A former consultant to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr. Samson Olalere and Head of Department of Economics, Precious Cornerstone University, Ibadan, Dr. Francis Adeyemi, lamented the increase.
Olalere said: “It’s unfortunate that for eight years, the outgoing government could not do anything to improve the economy.
“Way out is to improve on the productive sector of the economy.
“Consumption of local production should be encouraged while foreign importation should be discouraged.
“Our local refineries must be put back in shape to reduce high cost of importation and high rate of inflation.”
Adeyemi said: “High inflation makes the demand for goods and services less attractive, it makes the fixed income earner poorer and this increases the level of unemployment since demand for goods and services is falling, employers are tempted to lay off.
“It also leads to a lower exchange rate, and when this happens, it results in capital flight as investors seek to protect the values of their assets.”
