Nigeria’s Headline Inflation Hits 29.90% Amid Rising Cost Of Living

Nigeria’s headline inflation accelerated to 29.90% percent in January 2024, according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday.

“In January 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 29.90% relative to the December 2023 headline inflation rate which was 28.92%,” the NBS said in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report – which measures changes in prices of goods and services –  for January.

“Looking at the movement, the January 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.98% points when compared to the December 2023 headline inflation rate. Similarly, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 8.08% points higher compared to the rate recorded in January 2023, which was 21.82%.”

According to the NBS, the food inflation, on a year-on-year basis was 35.41%,  11.10% points higher compared to the rate recorded in January 2023 (24.32%).

“The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, oil and fat, fish, meat, fruit, coffee, tea, and cocoa,” the NBS report read.

Thursday’s figures are coming on the heels of the rising cost of living in the country. President Bola Tinubu had owing to the development ordered the release of grains to address food costs in the country.

Several stakeholders have also been meeting as the nation grapples with the biting effects of the fuel subsidy removal and insecurity affecting some parts of Nigeria.

Despite the soaring inflation rates, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is optimistic that the figures will go down this year.

“Inflationary pressures are expected to decline in 2024 due to the CBN’s inflationary targeting policy aiming to rein in inflation to 21.4 per cent, aided by improved agricultural productivity and easy global supply chain pressures,” the CBN governor Yemi Cardoso made this known when he met with lawmakers last week.

“The Nigerian foreign exchange market is currently facing increased demand pressures causing a continuous decrease in the value of naira.”