Utomi targets N500/$ exchange rate, projects 50% drop in food prices

Political economist and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) chieftain Professor Pat Utomi has proposed strengthening the naira to N500 per dollar, projecting that the exchange rate target, alongside infrastructure investment and structural reforms, could cut the prices of several staple foods by as much as 50%.

Utomi outlined the proposal in a statement published on his X account, presenting exchange-rate appreciation as part of the party’s manifesto and a strategy to reduce inflation, poverty and the cost of living.

He argued that a stronger naira, combined with improvements in security, electricity and road infrastructure, would lower production and distribution costs while improving competition across markets.

Utomi said the NDC’s manifesto would seek to strengthen the naira from around N1,350/$ to N500/$, describing the proposal as a strategy for easing economic pressures on households.

He argued that the proposed exchange-rate target, supported by infrastructure improvements and structural reforms, would help reduce the cost of imported goods and ease pressure on domestic prices.

Utomi also linked the proposal to poverty reduction, saying it demonstrated the party’s plan to improve living conditions for Nigerians experiencing multidimensional poverty.

However, the projected exchange rate and price reductions are manifesto targets rather than established outcomes. Achieving them would depend on several factors, including foreign exchange supply, domestic production capacity and the cost of transporting and distributing goods.

As part of the proposal, Utomi projected that prices of selected food items and other commodities could decline by approximately 50% under the party’s proposed economic measures.

The proposal also includes lower prices for petrol and cement, which Utomi linked to the broader objective of reducing living and production costs.

The projections are based on the party’s proposed economic approach and should not be interpreted as guaranteed price reductions. Exchange-rate changes may influence the cost of imported inputs, but domestic prices are also affected by energy costs, transport, security challenges, supply conditions and other production expenses.

Utomi’s proposal comes amid recent improvements in some of Nigeria’s key economic indicators.

Nairametrics earlier reported that the naira strengthened against the US dollar for a third consecutive trading session on October 28, 2026, closing at N1,349/$ at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, compared with N1,357/$ a day earlier.

Nigeria’s external reserves have also crossed $55 billion, reaching their highest level in more than 18 years, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria, as previously reported by Nairametrics.

Meanwhile, headline inflation eased to 14.63% in September 2026, down from 15.39% in August, marking another monthly decline. Food inflation stood at 19.59% year-on-year in September 2026, compared with 20.16% in September 2025, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

These figures provide context for Utomi’s proposal, but they do not establish that the naira can appreciate to N500/$ or that food prices would consequently fall by half.

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