Bibi Victoria
Residents of Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital have lamented the rising cost of goods, services, food items and general cost of living.
They said the continuous increase in the cost of living has affected them adversely and are finding it difficult to meet their monthly obligations based on what they earn.
A trader at the Mile one market, Eric Oluikpe said the amount he spends in buying fuel has tripled. According to him, he no longer eats three times a day but twice due to the increase in prices of food items.
He pleaded that the government should fix basic infrastructure and implement policies that can enhance the standard of living of Nigerians.
A graduate of Economics, Daddy Egba said he has been managing to cope by cutting every unnecessary and lavish spending on things that do not add value to life. ” Some of things I have stopped include going to cinema and recreational parks for pleasure,” he disclosed. He said if measures are taken to bring down the price of fuel it will reduce the high cost of living.
” The government should invest in power generation and transmission as this will reduce the cost of production and thereby reduce price of goods and services. “The government should give tax wavers to businesses especially SMEs to encourage business growth. Government should make available easy access low interest loans to perspective investor’s to encourage business growth,” he suggested.
A civil Servant and a father of three, Fibite Adokiye lamented how the cost of living has affected his way of living. “Things have changed from bad to worse as there is no increment of salaries yet fuel price has increased as well as every item in the market has increased to about 300%,” he noted.
He said he can no longer afford the complete ingredients for food which is making him look malnourished. He suggested that the government should fix the refineries and give out some percentage to private firms to manage in return for a certain percentage to the government.
Mercy Dei, a teacher and a mother of three said she usually pays ₦100 from her junction to the school where she teaches but she currently pays ₦200. She added that she pays the same amount for each of her children when they go to school, which is about 50% of her salary, adding that the cost of living is so high that feeding daily has been very difficult for her.
Uzor Vincent, PC: Bibi Victoria
Uzor Vincent, a tailor, explained how the high cost of living has affected not only his business but his family and personal life. ” People are suffering because the cost of living is high. People make use of their legs rather than take public transport because the prices have doubled from what it used to be.” He said the cost of materials he uses to make clothes for his customers is now double the former amount. According to him, he no longer goes to work like he used to and doesn’t get enough money to send to his family.
He appealed that the government should fix the refineries instead of giving out palliative.
#Bibi Victoria, a 2023 campus journalism fellow of Africa foundation for Young Media Professionals sent this in from Port Harcourt Nigeria.
