Hope dims as Nigeria’s inflation rate rises to 28.9%

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has declared that Nigeria’s annual inflation rate stands at 28.92 per cent in December 2023 from 28.20 per cent in November.
This was disclosed in the NBS December 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI) which was released on Monday afternoon.

The CPI measures the rate of change in the prices of foods and services. Before Monday’s release, the country’s inflation rate was at 28.20 as of November 2023.
The statistics office in the release on said the December 2023 headline inflation rate increased by 0.72 per cent compared to the November 2023 headline inflation rate.

The NBS said on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 7.58 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in December 2022, which was 21.34 per cent.

“This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in December 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., December 2022),” it said.

Furthermore, the bureau said on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in December 2023 was 2.29 per cent, which was 0.20 per cent higher than the rate recorded in November 2023 (2.09 per cent).

This, it said, means that in December 2023, the rate of increase in the average price level is more than the rate of increase in the average price level in November 2023.

According to the report, the food inflation rate in December 2023 quickened to 33.93 per cent on a year-on-year basis, 10.18 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in December 2022 (23.75 per cent).

In recent years, food prices have been on the rise across Nigeria. The situation deteriorated due to the impact of government policies such as the removal of subsidies on petrol, among others.

He also directed that “all matters pertaining to food & water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, be included within the purview of the National Security Council.”