Nigeria’s Inflation Now 16.47% as Food Index Hits 20.57%

By Dipo Olowookere

Things are not getting better in Nigeria and the latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on the consumer price index, (CPI), which measures inflation, confirms this.

On Tuesday morning, the stats agency in Nigeria revealed that inflation increased year-on-year in January 2021 by 16.47 per cent, 0.71 per cent higher than the 15.75 per cent recorded in December 2020.

Business Post reports that the inflation, rather than moderating after the federal government ordered the reopening of four of the land borders, is rising.

All the land borders were closed in August 2019, putting pressure on the supply of food in the country because some food items could not come into the nation.

This was made worse because the local capacity could not cater to the demand and security issues in the northern part of the country, where most of the food items are grown, significantly cut supply.

In the report released today, the NBS said on a month-on-month basis, the headline index jumped by 1.49 per cent in January 2021 compared with 1.61 per cent in December 2020.

According to the agency, the percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12 months period ending January 2021 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period was 13.62 per cent as against 13.25 per cent in December 2020.

It was further disclosed that last month, the urban inflation rate increased by 17.03 per cent year-on-year in contrast to 16.33 per cent a month earlier, while the rural inflation rate rose by 15.92 per cent in January 2021 from 15.20 per cent in December 2020.

The NBS data also stated that in January 2021, all items inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi at 21.38 per cent, Oyo at 20.17 per cent and Bauchi at 19.52 per cent, while Kwara at 13.96 per cent, Abuja at 12.96 per cent and Cross River at 12.22 per cent recorded the slowest rise in headline year-on-year inflation.

Business Post reports that in the period under consideration, the composite food index rose by 20.57 per cent versus 19.56 per cent in December 2020.

This spike in the food inflation was attributed to increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat, fruits, vegetable, fish and oils and fats.

The data revealed that the food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi at 26.64 per cent, Oyo at 23.69 per cent and Rivers State at 23.49 per cent, while Ondo at 17.20 per cent, Abuja at 16.73 per cent and Bauchi at 16.37 per cent recorded the slowest rise.