Dele Oye says improved economic indicators have failed to translate into lower food prices, cheaper credit and better living conditions.

The Chairman of the Alliance for Economic Research and Ethics, Dele Oye, has said Nigeria’s improving macroeconomic indicators are yet to translate into better living conditions for millions of citizens, warning that rising poverty and food prices could undermine the gains recorded in the economy.

Oye, a former president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), said the decline in headline inflation and the recent improvement in economic growth did not adequately reflect the realities confronting households across the country.

Speaking on AIT, Oye said while Nigeria was recording growth and rising oil production, the benefits were not being evenly distributed, particularly at the sub-national level.

He noted that the national inflation rate of 15.39 per cent masked significant differences in prices across states, pointing to food inflation in Adamawa, which he said stood at 51 per cent in July.

“What that means is not just a statistic. It is insecurity. Because for the woman in Adamawa who has to go to the market, the GDP figures do not mean anything, or the national inflation figure does not mean anything. It is the price they have to pay.

“What it means is they have to pay more for less. So we have to find a way to have inclusive growth,” he said.

Oye said the government needed to focus on ensuring that macroeconomic stability translated into cheaper credit, higher employment and lower food prices, arguing that growth figures alone could not capture the economic experience of ordinary Nigerians.

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