A survey of the prices conducted by NAN in some markets in Yola, Maiduguri and Damaturu towns indicated that the prices of some foodstuffs were lower in April when compared to February and March.
In Yola Central Market, a bag of 50kg foreign rice which sold between ₦80,000 and ₦85,000 two months ago, now sells for between ₦57,000 and ₦58,000, while a bag of 100 kg of beans which sold for ₦110,000 is now ₦100,000 .
Guinea corn which is another staple food in Adamawa, now goes for ₦55,000 for a 100kg bag as against ₦60,000 two months ago.
Malam Suleiman Adamu, a trader in the market who deals in pasta, said a big carton of spaghetti which sold for ₦13,500 two months ago, now sells for ₦12,800, while that of indomie, which sold at ₦15,000, now sells for ₦ 13,500.
Adamu associated the decrease with the recent rise in the value of the Naira and urged the government to sustain the tempo.
Dr Mohammed Tukura lecturer at the Adamawa State Polytechnic, Yoĺa, urged the government to put in mechanisms that would control the prices of essential commodities to ensure access and affordability for the citizenry.
In Yobe, a bag of 100kg white beans now costs ₦75,000 as against ₦110,000, while that of red beans goes for ₦95,000 as against ₦130,000.
Similarly, a bag of 50kg local rice has dropped from ₦65,000 to ₦45,000, while a bag of 100kg Guinea corn dropped from ₦60,000 to ₦50,000.
Alhaji Abdullahi Garin-DayiChairman of, the Grain Sellers Association in the market, said the drop could also be associated with farmers who needed cash to prepare for the next cropping season.
At Bayan Tasha market in Damaturu, the Chairman of the traders association, Alhassan Ibrahimsaid a 50kg bag of local rice now sells for N45,000 as against N65,000 while a bag of sugar has also dropped from ₦80,000 to ₦78,000.
Ibrahim said that a 25-liter jerry can of cooking oil goes for ₦44,000 as against ₦60,000.
In Maiduguri, a 50kg bag of foreign rice goes for ₦70,000 as against ₦80,000 while local rice goes for ₦63,000.
A 100kg bag of corn, which used to sell at ₦75,000, is now ₦64,000 while millet retains its price of ₦64,000, and a sack of onion which sold for ₦35,000 is now between ₦15,000 to ₦15,000.
However, a basket of tomatoes that sold for ₦9,000 two months ago has risen to ₦18,000 while a sack of Atargu (pepper) has risen from ₦52,000 to ₦65,000.
