By Sabiu Abdullahi
A new report by civic technology organisation BudgIT has shown that the cost of maintaining a healthy diet in Nigeria is highest in Taraba State and lowest in Bayelsa State.
The findings appeared in BudgIT’s report, The Price of Survival: Nigeria’s Cost of a Healthy Diet Tracker, Q1 2026. The report analysed monthly Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in partnership with the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
According to the report, the national average cost of a healthy diet rose by 11.7% between December 2025 and March 2026. The figure increased from ₦1,380 to ₦1,541 per person per day.
BudgIT said the increase erased the 6.4% decline recorded during the final quarter of 2025, when the harvest season temporarily reduced food prices.
“It was seasonal relief, not a structural improvement. Q1 2026 reversed it entirely,” the report said.
The organisation attributed the rise to tighter post-harvest food supplies and dry-season conditions, which pushed food prices higher across all categories.
It also noted that Yobe and Oyo recorded some of the sharpest increases after experiencing price declines in the previous quarter. According to the report, Yobe’s healthy diet cost fell by 18.6% in the last quarter of 2025 before rising by 42.5% between December and March. Oyo recorded a 19.5% decline before rebounding by 40.2% during the same period.
Taraba recorded the largest increase in healthy diet costs between January and March, with a 49.3% rise. Gombe followed with 34.1%, while Yobe, Cross River, Kano and Ogun posted increases of 29.9%, 28.1%, 27% and 26.7%, respectively.
The report also found that eight states recorded lower healthy diet costs during the quarter. Adamawa led with a 26.7% decline, followed by Akwa Ibom (21.6%), Ondo (13%), Edo (12.7%), Borno (8.3%), the Federal Capital Territory (6.3%), Rivers (3.5%) and Bayelsa (0.3%).
However, BudgIT warned that percentage increases alone do not present the full picture because Taraba started the period with the country’s lowest daily healthy diet cost.
> “Any policy response built on the national figure alone would be responding to an average that describes almost none of the states that comprise it,” the report added.
The report also highlighted regional differences in food affordability. It said eight of the 10 least expensive states for a healthy diet were in northern Nigeria, while all 10 most expensive states were in the south.
Ekiti recorded the highest daily healthy diet cost at ₦2,091, followed by Imo (₦2,052), Abia (₦1,970), Lagos (₦1,910) and Ebonyi (₦1,891).
Adamawa had the lowest daily cost at ₦1,004. The Federal Capital Territory followed at ₦1,113, while Taraba, Borno and Bauchi recorded ₦1,149, ₦1,244 and ₦1,273, respectively.
BudgIT further stated that the North-West recorded the fastest quarterly increase at 17.5%, despite northern states generally remaining less expensive than their southern counterparts.
“A narrowing gap driven by northern costs rising faster is, if anything, a worsening of conditions for households in a region that was already more vulnerable on other welfare indicators,” BudgIT said.
The organisation warned that the rising cost of food is placing greater pressure on household incomes. It noted that the daily cost of a healthy diet in Ekiti would consume about 89.6% of the ₦70,000 national minimum wage. It said this would leave only about ₦7,261 each month for rent, transport, electricity, healthcare, education and other household expenses.
BudgIT called on the governments of Taraba, Gombe, Yobe, Cross River, Kano and Ogun to explain the sharp increase in food prices recorded in their states.
“A 49% increase in the cost of eating well in a single quarter, as recorded in Taraba, is not a minor fluctuation. It is a signal that something is wrong in local food markets,” the report said.
“Silence from government in the face of data this stark is itself a governance failure.”
The organisation also urged state ministries responsible for agriculture and food security to publish quarterly reports on market conditions, food price trends and intervention measures.
It asked the federal government to treat insecurity in the North-West and North-Central as a food security emergency. It said conflict has disrupted farming activities and increased food prices in many rural communities.
BudgIT also urged the NBS to publish detailed food basket cost breakdowns alongside state and zonal averages to help policymakers identify the factors driving food inflation and develop targeted responses.
The organisation said it would continue to publish the tracker every quarter to monitor changes in food affordability across Nigeria.