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Abuja food prices: rice, beans, tomato prices fall in September
Food prices in Abuja recorded mixed movements in September 2025, with some staples dropping significantly while others witnessed fresh increases. Visits to major markets, including Wuse, Kubwa, Nyanya, and Orange Market, reveal that a sack of dry onions, one of the most widely used cooking ingredients, sells between N55,000 and N60,000, rising sharply from N45,000 in July. At the Orange market, a bag of onions was sold for around N60,000. Pepper, another essential item, was priced at N3,000–N3,500 per mudu, down from N4,500 in July, indicating some relief for households. The price of a lap of goat meat rose to N7,500-N13,500, compared to N6,821-N10,000 in July, reflecting higher demand and rising transportation costs. By contrast, a carton of Titus fish fell to N69,000, down from N72,000 two months earlier. A visit to the Orange market shows that beans prices experienced a downward trend. A mudu of white beans dropped to N1,600 from N2,020.96, while brown beans sold at N1,500, down from N2,319.27 in July. Similarly, rice prices declined. A mudu of clean local rice went for N1,600, compared to N2,586 previously. Local rice (with stones) dropped further to N1,400, while foreign rice cost N2,500 per mudu, down from N2,642. A 50kg bag of foreign rice also fell to N65,000, from N79,000 in July.
In Nyanya market, located at the satellite town, a 50 kg bag of rice that was formally sold between N80,000 and N85,000 in July, was now being sold for between N58,000 and N63,000, depending on the brand.
Also, a 25kg bag of rice, depending on the brand, costs about N30,000 at the Orange market. Fresh tomato prices recorded the steepest decline. A mudu sold at N3,000, compared to N6,821 in July, providing relief for many households that had struggled with the high cost during the rainy season shortages. Similarly, yam tubers now sell for about N2,000, down from N2,484 earlier in the year. Traders attributed the price drops in beans, rice, yams, and tomatoes to improved supply from northern states as the harvest season began. However, items like onions and goat meat remain elevated due to persistent high transport costs and insecurity in farming regions.
“The price of onions can sometimes be unpredictable. So, you can come back tomorrow and buy it cheaper,” Hauwa, an onion trader at Kubwa said. Some consumers in Abuja have welcomed the reduction in staple prices but lamented that overall household food budgets remain strained. Yes, rice and beans are cheaper, but onions and meat are still too high. By the time you combine everything, you still end up spending more,” said Halima, a mother of three at Wuse Market. Traders and market analysts have said that the easing of food prices by the federal government’s recent policies has helped crash food prices. Dr. Adam Abudu of the Society for Peacebuilding and Economic Advancement also highlighted the role of government policies in food price stabilization.
He said that the relative stability of the foreign exchange market in recent weeks has helped ease the cost of imported food items, indirectly affecting local food prices. “A stable naira has made importation more predictable. When importers can plan ahead without worrying about erratic exchange rates, it prevents unnecessary price surges in the market.” Another expert based at the University of Abuja, Fred Akano, recalled that earlier in September, President Bola Tinubu directed the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to roll out additional measures aimed at further reducing food prices in the country. Let us not forget that the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Sabi Abdullahi, said that the President has given a matching order to promote safe passage of agricultural commodities nationwide,” he said.
Cardano (ADAUSD) climbed amidst tight trading activities in the crypto market, up by 1.05% in the past 24 hours, showing resilience near key support.
The price ticked up on Sunday amidst negative movements in the global crypto market. The gain has reduced its negative movement in the week to 1%. Cardano is showing strength with a $70 million ADA treasury push and a bullish December setup, but it faces key resistance amidst competing traders.
The token is trading at $0.4165 at the time of filing the report on Sunday, gaining more than 1% on the day as volume traded reached $359.252 million. The token is in a notable correction from its November highs. Recent trading activity reflects pronounced investor caution. Over a 30-day period, ADA has declined approximately 15%, mirroring the broader pressure on risk assets from macroeconomic uncertainties.
Sentiment trades mixed, as retail and mid-sized investors are accumulating at lows, but large holders remain sceptical. Cardano’s privacy-centric Midnight Network went live after years of development, introducing NIGHT – the first native asset on Cardano.
According to crypto analysts, Short-term speculation around NIGHT airdrops and interoperability boosted ADA demand. ADA rebounded from $0.371–$0.416 after testing an ascending trend line connecting 2023–2025 lows. Traders interpreted the bounce as a bullish divergence, but ADA remains below critical resistance of $0.5113 and its 200-day EMA of $0.68.
ADA’s minor rally reflects optimism around Midnight’s launch and oversold technicals, but scepticism about its ecosystem impact and whale selling caps upside. While the price surges, analysts stated that Cardano balances technical hope against macroeconomic headwinds, with Midnight’s adoption trajectory and $0.51 resistance serving as critical watch points.
While governance upgrades signal maturing decentralisation, crypto analysts are still querying whether ADA can leverage these developments to reverse its 2025 underperformance.
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency has recovered over 7.6 million pills of tramadol and a total of 76,273.4 kilograms of different strains of cannabis.
The agency’s spokesman, Femi Babafemi, said this in a statement on Sunday in Abuja. Mr Babafemi said that the drugs, including Colorado, Loud and Skunks, had several members of drug trafficking organisations linked to the seizures arrested.
He said that out of the total opioids seized during the raids, not less than 3,874,000 pills of tramadol, 225mg and 100mg, and others, as well as 252.2litres of codeine syrup were recovered. He said that they were recovered from a warehouse at Oko market, Asaba, Delta, on Saturday. He also said that no fewer than 1.2 million tablets of tramadol 225mg were seized from a suspect on December 3.
This, he said, was when NDLEA operatives on patrol at Orogwe, along the Onitsha-Owerri road, Imo, intercepted his vehicle conveying the consignment, which was loaded at Aba, Abia, and heading to Onitsha, Anambra. Meanwhile, in Adamawa, NDLEA officers on December 1 intercepted a Toyota Hiace bus marked MGU 554 XB along Maraba-Mubi, coming from Jos, Plateau state, and heading to Mubi, with a total of 1,577,112 capsules of tramadol.
“Other drugs intercepted were Exol-5 tablets, all concealed inside jumbo bags mixed with new rubber sandals and slippers. Two suspects were arrested in connection with the seizure. Similarly, another 27-year-old suspect was nabbed along Zaria-Kano road, Kano state, with 197,000 pills of exol-5,” he said.
The NDLEA chairman, Buba Marwa, commended the officers and men of the SOU commands in Delta, Adamawa, Imo, Ondo, Lagos, and Kano for the arrests and seizures. Mr Marwa said that their operational successes, along with those of their compatriots across the country, especially their balanced approach to drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction, were well appreciated. NAN
The Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) has released the 2025 Subnational Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Report, with Lagos emerging as the best-performing state, scoring 85.6 per cent.
The report released by the director-general of PEBEC, Zahrah Mustapha-Audu, has Kaduna in second position with 65.1 per cent. Oyo, FCT, and Ogun rounded up the top five with scores of 62.7 per cent, 61.0 per cent, and 59.9 per cent, respectively. Others include Enugu (56.2 per cent) in sixth position, with Plateau (56.2 per cent), Ekiti (55.8 per cent), Kano (54.8 per cent), and Nasarawa (53.4 per cent) rounding out the top 10 states.
The EoDB report is a comprehensive data-driven assessment of how Nigeria’s 36 states and the FCT are shaping business competitiveness through regulation, infrastructure, and administrative efficiency.
The report assesses performance across 16 indicators and 36 sub-metrics covering electricity, infrastructure, digital connectivity, land administration, taxation, trade logistics, justice delivery, investor support and skilled labour readiness.
According to the DG, these states distinguished themselves through consistent reform momentum, improved digital processes, and more predictable regulatory environments. “The 2025 Report also highlights five priority interventions states can implement immediately. These include establishing investor aftercare systems, strengthening MSME credit enablement, harmonising interstate trade rules, upgrading commercial justice processes, and improving power reliability for industrial clusters,” she said.
According to her, PEBEC will continue to support state-led reform adoption, particularly under the $750 million State Action on Business Enabling Reforms (SABER) programme. She added that “the 2025 Subnational EoDB Report provides a critical foundation for policy action, investment decisions, and long-term competitiveness across Nigeria.”
The DG said the Subnational Ease of Doing Business Report is available for download at www.pebec.gov.ng/reports
PEBEC had earlier released its 2025 Business Facilitation Act (BFA) Performance Report, covering MDAs’ performance from January to October. This performance report is part of the council’s effort to track and measure the compliance of federal government MDAs with the BFA’s requirements on promoting Transparency and Efficiency of government-delivered services to the business community.
The report presents a data-driven assessment of 69 priority MDAs, drawing on monthly compliance submissions, independent mystery shopping, website audits, ReportGov analytics, and targeted process-verification exercises.
According to the report, the top five performing MDAs include the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), with an impressive 90.6 per cent score, followed by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at 89 per cent. The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), ranks third with 86.6percent, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) secured the fourth and fifth positions, scoring 85.3 per cent and 84.2 per cent, respectively.
PEBEC, currently chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima, was established in July 2016 by the federal government to oversee Nigeria’s business environment intervention. It has a dual mandate of removing bureaucratic and legislative constraints to doing business and improving the perception of the ease of doing business in Nigeria. NAN
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