Ekiti, Imo, Abia Most Expensive States To Eat Healthy Diet …. Report

• As Feeding Takes 92% Minimum Wage

Catastrophic food inflation crisis has hit the South-East geopolitical zone, making it the most expensive region in Nigeria to maintain a basic healthy lifestyle.

According to a data analysis released by Statisense, drawing from the March 2026 report of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the monthly Cost of a Healthy Diet (CoHD) now swallows more than 80% of Nigeria’s newly implemented N70,000 national minimum wage in eight different states across the federation.

The report exposes a harrowing reality for the country’s working-class population: after purchasing just enough nutritious food to survive for 31 days, an average worker in these top-tier expensive states is left with virtually nothing to cover rent, utilities, transportation, or healthcare.

A regional breakdown of the data reveals that the five states making up the South-East geopolitical zone — Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Anambra — have collectively shifted into Nigeria’s most expensive food corridor.

All five states feature prominently in the top nine most expensive states nationwide, presenting a devastating financial hurdle for residents.

Leading the nationwide list of expensive states is Ekiti State in the South-West, where a 31-day healthy diet requires a staggering N64,821, consuming an unparalleled 92.6% of a worker’s total salary.

However, the South-East maintains the highest regional density of severe food unaffordability.

In Imo State, a minimum wage earner must spend N63,612—representing 90.9% of their total income—just to feed healthily, leaving a miserable balance of less than ₦6,400 for all other monthly expenses. Neighbours in Abia State face a similarly bleak fate, with the monthly cost of a healthy diet calculated at N61,070, or 87.2% of the wage floor.

The data further reveals that even in Ebonyi State, historically regarded as an agrarian food basket of the South-East region, the cost of a healthy diet has soared to N58,621, draining 83.7% of the national minimum wage. Enugu and Anambra states follow this grim pattern closely, with healthy diet costs tracking at N56,327 (80.5%) and N54,684 (78.1%) respectively.

The crisis extends into other major economic and coastal zones across the country. In the South-West, commercial powerhouse Lagos demands N59,210 per month, which takes up 84.6% of the minimum wage, while Osun, Ondo, and Ogun states consume 80.1% (N56,079), 76.9% (N53,816), and 75.8% (N53,072) of a worker’s monthly earnings.