Aduragbemi Omiyale
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday said inflation in Nigeria slowed to 15.60 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the 16.47 per cent recorded in the same period of 2021 and lower than the 15.63 per cent recorded in December 2021.
It was disclosed that last month, inflation was highest in Abuja at 18.59 per cent, Kogi at 18.28 per cent and Bauchi at 17.61 per cent and was lowest in Kwara at 12.94 per cent, Niger at 14.10 per cent and Oyo at 14.19 per cent.
Further analysis indicated that the urban inflation rate increased to 16.17 per cent year-on-year in January 2022 from 17.03 per cent recorded in January 2021, while the rural inflation rate increased to 15.06 per cent last month from 15.92 per cent of the corresponding month of 2021.
In the report released by the stats office, it was revealed that in the first month of this year, the composite food index slowed to 17.13 per cent from 20.57 per cent in the first month of last year.
The NBS disclosed in the report that the food index increased, though at a slower pace, by a hike in prices of bread and cereals, food product, potatoes, yam and other tuber, soft drinks, oils and fats and fruit.
The food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi at 22.61 per cent, Enugu at 19.84 per cent and Akwa-Ibom at 19.67 per cent, while Sokoto at 14.18 per cent, Bauchi at 14.63 per cent and Kaduna at 15.01 per cent recorded the lowest rise in January 2022.
On a month-on-month basis, the headline index increased to 1.47 per cent in January 2022, this is 0.34 per cent points lower than the 1.82 per cent recorded in December 2021.
The percentage change in the average composite consumer price index (CPI) for the 12-month period ending January 2022 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12-month period was 16.87 per cent, showing a 0.08 per cent point from 16.95 per cent recorded in December 2021.
On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased to 1.62 per cent in January 2022, down by 0.57 per cent points from 2.19 per cent recorded in December 2021.
