Inflation in Nigeria has continued to surge for the fourth consecutive month, reaching a rate of 22.22% in April, compared to 22.04% in March.
These figures were disclosed in the Consumer Price Index report released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The report highlights a 0.18 percentage point increase in April’s inflation rate compared to the previous month. This marks the fourth consecutive month of rising inflation in the country since the beginning of the year.
The NBS report stated, “Looking at the movement, the April 2023 inflation rate showed an increase of 0.18% points when compared to March 2023 headline inflation rate.”
Furthermore, the report indicated that the year-on-year headline inflation rate in April 2023 was 5.40% higher than the rate recorded in April 2022, which stood at 16.82%. This reveals a significant increase in the headline inflation rate on a year-on-year basis.
The National Bureau of Statistics attributed the surge in the headline index to various factors, particularly the increased prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel. These items contributed significantly to the overall rise in inflation.
According to the report, the specific contributions of various items to the divisional level increase in the headline index are as follows: food and non-alcoholic beverages (11.51%); housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuel (3.72%); clothing and footwear (1.70%); transport (1.45%); furnishings, household equipment, and maintenance (1.12%); education (0.88%); health (0.67%); miscellaneous goods and services (0.37%); restaurant and hotels (0.27%); alcoholic beverages, tobacco, and kola (0.24%); recreation and culture (0.15%); and communication (0.15%).
In terms of food inflation, the report revealed a rise to 24.61% in April, compared to 24.45% in the previous month. This increase was primarily driven by higher prices of oil and fat, bread and cereals, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fruits, meat, vegetables, and spirits.
The report further elaborated that on a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in April 2023 was 2.13%, which is 0.06% higher than the rate recorded in March 2023 (2.07%).
Additionally, the average annual rate of food inflation for the twelve months ending in April 2023, compared to the previous twelve-month average, was 23.22%. This represents a 4.35% increase from the average annual rate recorded in April 2022 (18.88%).
Analyzing the state profiles, the NBS report indicated that residents of Kogi, Kwara, and Bayelsa states experienced the highest food inflation rates during the period under review.
In April 2023, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (29.50%), Kwara (29.48%), and Bayelsa (29.38%). Conversely, Sokoto (19.55%), Taraba (20.20%), and Jigawa (20.68%) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis.
On a month-on-month basis, the report noted that in April 2023, food inflation was highest in Cross River (4.65%), Bayelsa (3.61%), and Ekiti (3.49%), while Jigawa (0.14%), Katsina (0.44%) and Osun (0.62%) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation.
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