Utomi says Obi's NDC plans N500/$ naira, half-price food if elected in 2027

Political economist and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) chieftain Professor Pat Utomi says the party's 2027 economic plan would aim to strengthen the naira from about N1,350 to the dollar to N500, and he projects that staple food prices could fall by roughly half as a result.

Utomi made the proposal in a post on X on Thursday, according to Vanguard and Leadership, and framed it as part of the manifesto of the party's presidential candidate, Peter Obi. Nairametrics reported the same statement as a party manifesto proposal.

"We are convinced that targeting a strategic appreciation of the exchange rate by reasonably strengthening it from ₦1,350/$ to ₦500/$ as part of our manifesto is a winning strategy," Utomi wrote, adding that it offers "a direct, multi-faceted approach to curbing inflation, reducing poverty, and lowering the cost of living."

What the plan promises shoppers

Utomi's projections include a loaf of sliced bread falling from ₦1,750 to ₦800, and a 50kg bag of imported rice dropping from ₦55,000 to ₦27,500.

He also put a medium tuber of yam at ₦1,200 from ₦2,400, a 50kg bag of maize at ₦37,500 from ₦75,000, a bunch of plantain at ₦1,250 from ₦2,500, and a whole chicken at ₦3,500 from ₦7,000.

A dozen eggs would sell for ₦1,150 instead of ₦2,300, and a painter of garri would fall to ₦650 from ₦1,300, according to his estimates.

Leadership reported that the proposal also covers petrol, which Utomi put at ₦1,350 per litre and projected would drop to ₦500, and a 50kg bag of cement, which he put at ₦13,500 and said would fall to ₦2,000.

Utomi said the plan would be supported by investment in security, electricity and road infrastructure, plus structural reforms to improve competition in markets. He said it shows the party's "concrete plan to uplift the 140 million Nigerians currently experiencing multi-dimensional poverty."

Questions over how it would work

The projections are manifesto targets, not outcomes already achieved. Utomi did not say when the N500 rate would be reached, or set out the monetary and fiscal policies needed to sustain it, according to Leadership.

Nairametrics reported that his post did not show detailed calculations for reaching the target or how the price cuts would apply across different goods.

Some Nigerians on X asked what foreign exchange policy would back the target and whether it would mean pegging the naira. Others asked how defending the rate would be funded and whether it could drain foreign reserves, and one user warned that converting dollar oil earnings at N500 instead of N1,350 could cut the naira revenue shared by the three tiers of government.

Leadership put the naira at ₦1,346.86 to the dollar on the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market on Friday, with the parallel market around ₦1,385. On that official figure, reaching N500 would mean the naira gaining about 63 per cent against the dollar.

Nairametrics reported that the naira closed at ₦1,349/$ on October 28, its third straight gain, while external reserves have crossed $55 billion, the highest in more than 18 years, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria. Headline inflation eased to 14.63 per cent in September 2026 from 15.39 per cent in August, with food inflation at 19.59 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The proposal comes as households and businesses still feel the cost-of-living squeeze from the foreign exchange and petrol subsidy reforms introduced under President Bola Tinubu's administration after 2023.

What happens next: The NDC's manifesto and campaign will be tested at the 2027 polls. Whether the naira target and the price cuts can be delivered will depend on foreign exchange supply, domestic production and transport costs, which the sources say Utomi's post did not detail.