Inflation Jumps 24 Times in 25 Months

Inflation rate in Nigeria has increased 24 times in the last 25 months.

This is according to an analysis of the Commodity Price Index, CPI reports published by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS.

The analysis showed that between October 2021 and October 2023, Nigeria’s inflation increased 24 times, with a singular exception of December 2022 when it slowed to 21.34 per cent from the 21.47 recorded in November 2022.

During the period in review (Oct 2021 – Sep 2023), inflation has increased from 15.99 per cent to 27.33 per cent.

In a report released in June, the NBS said that the continued depreciation of the naira and persistent inflation had eroded the N13.72tn that workers’ salaries gained in the last four years.

Also, in its Nigeria Development Update report for June 2023, the World Bank said that the accelerating inflation in Nigeria had pushed an additional four million Nigerians into poverty in the first five months of 2023.

The lender added that the loss of purchasing power from high inflation has increased poverty in the short term, pushing an estimated four million Nigerians into poverty between January 2023 and May 2023.

The World Bank’s position on Nigeria’s inflation tallies with an earlier presentation made by its lead economist in Nigeria, Alex Sienaert, who said in a 2022 presentation that rising inflation had led to a slump in the purchasing power of Nigerians, with the country’s consumer price inflation one of the highest in the world.

Sienaert said, “High inflation has been persistent in Nigeria for the past two decades, but since 2019 inflation has increased substantially, driven by the multiple exchange rates and exchange rate depreciation in the parallel market, intensified trade restrictions, and the monetization of the public deficit by the Central Bank of Nigeria.”