Nigeria’s inflation rate eases slightly but still a worry for many citizens

Nigeria's headline inflation rate slowed slightly last month, data showed on Thursday, but it remains stuck around 15% in annual terms and is a concern for many citizens months before a national election.

Consumer inflation was 14.63% year-on-year in September, down from 15.39% in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Food inflation was largely unchanged at 19.59% in September, up from 19.57% in August.

Stubborn price pressures are a ​test for President Bola Tinubu ahead of January's election, when he ​will seek a final four-year term.

"The common man is suffering. Everything has skyrocketed," Michael Udoariri, a 44-year-old who works in an insurance company and is ​a father of three, told Reuters at a bus stop ​in Lagos while waiting to go to work.

He said soaring fuel costs had ‌forced ⁠him to stop driving and switch to public transport.

The central bank surprised investors last month with a 350-basis-point interest rate cut to 23%, saying that market rates had diverged from its benchmark rate and that previous tightening measures had proven effective.

Tinubu took office in 2023 and implemented a series of economic reforms, such as cutting petrol subsidies and devaluing the currency, to boost ​economic growth and bolster public finances.

But those reforms also spurred a cost-of-living crisis.

Economic growth has picked up, coming in at about 4.4% year-on-year in the ⁠second ​quarter, but it remains well below ​the 7% annual rate Tinubu has targeted by 2027.

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.

Tags:  

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.