NAN-HE-6
Recession
By Ugonne Uzoma
Owerri, Jan. 13, 2017 (NAN) Price of foods and cost of living are on the rise in Owerri due to economic recession in the country.
There has been steady increase in the price of commodities since June last year.
A correspondent of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri, Imo State, reports that food prices have continued to increase to the chagrin of consumers.
NAN reports that a measure of garri, which sold for N500 last November, now sells for N1000.
A 50kg bag of imported rice, which formerly cost between N13,000 and N15,000, now goes for N24,000, while a bag of local rice, which was between N7,000 and N9,000, now costs between N13,000 and N17,000.
A bottle of palm oil, which was formerly N700, now goes for N2, 000, while a smaller container which sold for N300, now sells for N1, 200 across the state.
A bottle of roasted groundnuts, which was between N400 and N500, now sells for N700 in Owerri and N1,300 in Mbaise.
A litre of kerosene now sells for N350 against N190 in December.
Some residents in Enugu, the state capital, told NAN that the situation had brought untold hardship to them.
Mrs Pauline Nwakor, a civil servant, said her situation had been worsened by non-payment of salaries by the state government.
“How am I going to survive? My husband and I are both civil servants and are being owed arrears of salaries by the government.
“The children cannot go back to school and we can hardly afford three square meals a day,’’ she said.
A trader, Mr Barth Onyeukwu, described the situation as unbearable as traders said were also finding it difficult to restock due to high cost of the goods.
“I pray for God’s intervention because a lot of people are suffering and even dying,’’ he said. (NAN)
UOI/MNA/TA
(Edited by Maureen Atuonwu/Tajudeen Atitebi)