Nigeria’s Inflation Eases to 18.12% in April as Food Index Drops 0.23%

By Dipo Olowookere

For the first time in many months, the inflation rate in Nigeria moderated by 0.05 per cent to 18.12 per cent in April from 18.17 per cent recorded in March 2021.

The ease in inflation was influenced by a decline in the food index, which the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday stood at 22.72 per cent in April 2021 compared with 22.95 per cent in March 2021, reflecting a reduction by 0.23 per cent.

However, the stats office noted that in the month under consideration, there were still increases in the price of coffee, tea and cocoa, bread and cereals, soft drinks, milk, cheese and egg, vegetable, meat, oils and fats, fish and potatoes, yam and other tubers.

As for the headline inflation, the NBS said it increased on a month-on-month basis by 0.97 per cent in April in contrast to 1.56 per cent in the preceding month.

Also, it said the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12 months period ending April 2021 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period was 15.04 per cent, 0.48 per cent higher than the 14.55 per cent recorded in March 2021.

The NBS further said the urban inflation rate increased by 18.68 per cent year-on-year in April 2021 from 18.76 per cent recorded in March 2021, while the rural inflation rate increased by 17.57 per cent in April 2021 from 17.60 per cent in March 2021.

On a month-on-month basis, the urban index increased by 0.99 per cent in April, lower than the 1.60 per cent reported in the earlier month by 0.61 per cent, while the rural index increased by 0.95 per cent in the period under review compared with the 1.52 per cent achieved in March.

The report released this evening disclosed further that last month, inflation was highest in Kogi State with 24.33 per cent, followed by Bauchi at 22.93 per cent and Sokoto at 20.96 per cent, while it was slowest in Katsina at 15.58 per cent, Kwara at 15.70 per cent and Abia at 15.94 per cent.

As for the food inflation, it was highest on a year-on-year basis in Kogi at 30.52 per cent, Ebonyi at 28.07 per cent and Sokoto at 26.90 per cent, while Abuja at 18.63 per cent, Akwa Ibom at 18.51 per cent and Bauchi at 17.64 per cent recorded the slowest rise.