N10,000 Can Feed Modest Family For Several Days – Tinubu’s Aide, Tope Fasua

The Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Economic Affairs, Tope Fasua, has said a modest Nigerian family can still feed for several days with N10,000 despite rising food prices and growing economic hardship across the country. Fasua stated this while speaking during a members-only Coffee Hangout organised by Kay Hikers Club in Abuja.

A video from the event shared on the club’s official Instagram page on Thursday captured a tense exchange between the presidential aide and a female participant who lamented the rising cost of living, insecurity and declining purchasing power among Nigerians. The attendee questioned the affordability of basic food items, saying many citizens now struggle to meet daily needs.

“Are you aware that you can no longer buy tomato ₦500 from the market as you used to 10, 15 years ago? Are you also aware that the basic thing, as basic as food is now something you have to beg for?” she asked. She also linked increasing street crime and insecurity to worsening economic conditions and poor earnings among low-income Nigerians.

Responding, Fasua argued that Nigerians should avoid exaggerating the country’s economic situation, while urging households to manage their finances more carefully.

He admitted that prices of goods had increased but maintained that prudent spending could help families cope with the situation. “A modest family will feed for several days with ₦10,000,” he said.

Fasua further advised Nigerians to embrace more disciplined spending habits. “You will know how to cut your goat according to your cloth. You can go to the market, I go to the market too. I have customers in Utako market, in Wuse market. I like shopping. I like going to the market. I test things. You can buy foodstuff which you cook at home,” he added.

The presidential aide also said government could not satisfy every public expectation, stressing that citizens must adapt to current economic realities. “I know things are expensive, more expensive than they were before. But if we want sensation, government will never win,” he said.

Fasua also rejected comparisons between Nigeria’s living conditions and those of the United States, insisting that local purchasing power should be the standard for measuring economic realities.

“We are not in the US. Everybody has to deal with his own currency. That’s what is called purchasing power parity. $10 will go so far in this country but in the US you can do very little with it.”