The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said that Nigeria’s inflation rate increased to 28.92 percent in December 2023 from 28.20 percent in November.
The statistics office disclosed this in its December 2023 Consumer Price Index (CPI) which was released on Monday
The CPI measures the rate of change in the prices of foods and services. The country’s inflation rate was at 28.20 as of November 2023.
According to the NBS, “Looking at the movement, the December 2023 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.72% points when compared to the November 2023 headline inflation rate.”
It added: “Furthermore, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in December 2023 was 2.29%, which was 0.20% higher than the rate recorded in November 2023 (2.09%). This means that in December 2023, the rate of increase in the average price level is more than the rate of increase in the average price level in November 2023.”
The NBS also said that food inflation in December 2023 rose to 33.93 per cent on a year-on-year basis, 10.18 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in December 2022 (23.75 percent).
“The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, meat, fruit, milk, cheese, and egg,” the agency said.
President Bola Tinubu had in July last year, declared a state of emergency on food security in Nigeria.
Tinubu directed that all matters pertaining to food and water availability and affordability, as essential livelihood items, be included within the purview of the National Security Council.
Dele Alake, the current Minister of Solid Minerals, who conveyed the President’s directive, said it was in line with the Tinubu administration’s position on ensuring that the most vulnerable are supported.
The President also directed the immediate release fertilizers and grains to farmers and households to mitigate the effects of the subsidy removal.
“There must be an urgent synergy between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Water Resources to ensure adequate irrigation of farmlands and to guarantee that food is produced all-year round,” Alake quoted the President as saying.
“We shall create and support a National Commodity Board that will review and continuously assess food prices as well as maintain a strategic food reserve that will be used as a price stabilisation mechanism for critical grains and other food items. Through this board, government will moderate spikes and dips in food prices”, he added.