Nigerians feel the pinch as reforms spark cost-of-living crisis ahead of vote

In Abuja, health NGO employee Grace Adama struggles to stretch her 135,000 naira monthly wage, which now lasts only a week due to soaring costs of housing, electricity and food. Since President Bola Tinubu took office, his administration has eliminated fuel subsidies, devalued the naira and reduced electricity subsidies, actions that have more than doubled the cost of making jollof rice and pushed petrol prices sixfold.

The World Bank estimates that poverty now affects just over half of Nigerians, up from about 42% a year earlier, while investors celebrate a near-60% rise in the Nigerian stock exchange and $23 billion of capital inflows. Yet only a tiny fraction of adults invest locally, and high interest rates and inflation keep loans expensive. As the January elections approach, Tinubu must persuade voters that the reforms’ benefits will eventually trickle down, even as public sentiment turns sharply negative.