NIGERIA’S headline inflation rate increased to 33.69 per cent in April, the 11th consecutive rise under President Bola Tinubu, since he assumed office in May 2023.
The inflation rate is 0.49 per cent higher than in March when the rate surpassed the highest record since 1999.
ICIR can, however, report that this is the first time the inflation rate would increase consecutively for 11 months after a President assumed office.
Further findings showed that this is the fourth-highest inflation rate recorded in Nigeria since the first quarter of 1996.
According to the NBS report, “On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.47 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in April 2023, which was 22.22 per cent. This shows that the headline inflation rate (year-on-year basis) increased in April 2024 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., April 2023).”
Also, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in April 2024 was 2.29 per cent, which was 0.73 per cent lower than the rate recorded in March 2024 (3.02 per cent).
The April inflation was majorly driven by food and non-alcoholic beverages, the cost of housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel, as well as the prices of clothes and transportation.
Meanwhile, the food inflation rate for the month under review in March 2024 was 40.53 per cent. This was driven by increases in prices of the following items: garri, millet, akpu uncooked fermented (which are under the bread and cereals class), yam tuber, water yam (under the potatoes, yam, and other tubers class), dried fish sardine, mudfish dried (under fish class), palm oil, vegetable oil (under oil and fat), beef feet, beef head, liver (under meat class), coconut, watermelon (under fruit class), Lipton tea, bournvita, milo (under coffee, tea and cocoa class).
The food inflation was highest in Kogi (48.62 per cent), Kwara (46.73 per cent), Ondo (45.87 per cent), while Nasarawa (34.03 per cent), Adamawa (33.61 per cent), and Bauchi (33.85 per cent) recorded the slowest rise.
Meanwhile, for April 2024, the urban inflation rate was 36.00 per cent, and the rural inflation rate in April 2024 was 31.64 per cent.
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at jameskennyogunyale@gmail or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames | LinkedIn: Kehinde Ogunyale