The report said the food inflation rate in August 2024 increased to 37.52 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 8.18 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 at 29.34 per cent.
Matthew Onocheta and Martins Owoseni
Abuja – Nigeria’s headline inflation declined to 32.15 per cent in August 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.
According to NBS Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Inflation Report for August 2024, the figure is 1.25 per cent points lower compared to the 33.40 per cent recorded in July 2024.
In the report released in Abuja on Monday, It said that on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate in August 2024 was 6.35 per cent higher than in August 2023 at 25.80 per cent.
In addition, the report said on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in August 2024 was 2.22 per cent, which was 0.06 per cent lower than the rate recorded in July 2024 at 2.28 per cent.
“This means that in August 2024, the rate of increase in the average price level is lower than the rate of increase in the average price level in July 2024,” NBS stated.
The report said the increase in the headline index for August 2024 on a year-on-year basis and month-on-month basis was attributed to the rise in some items in the basket of goods and services at the divisional level.
The watchdog said these increases were observed in food and non-alcoholic beverages, housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuel, clothing and footwear, and transport.
Others were furnishings, household equipment and maintenance, education, health, miscellaneous goods and services, restaurants and hotels, alcoholic beverages, tobacco and kola, recreation and culture, and communication.
It said the percentage change in the average CPI for the 12 months ending August 2024 over the average of the CPI for the previous corresponding 12-month period was 31.26 per cent.
“This indicates an 8.88 per cent increase compared to 22.38 per cent recorded in August 2023,” NBS stated.
The report said the food inflation rate in August 2024 increased to 37.52 per cent on a year-on-year basis, which was 8.18 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in August 2023 at 29.34 per cent.
“The rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis is caused by increases in prices of bread, maize, grains, guinea corn, yam, Irish potatoes, water yam, cassava tuber. Others are palm oil, vegetable oil, Ovaltine, Milo, Lipton, etc,” NBS said.
It said on a month-on-month basis that the food inflation rate in August was 2.37 per cent, a 0.10 per cent decrease compared to the rate recorded in July 2024 at 2.24 per cent.
“The decline in food inflation on a month-on-month basis was caused by a decrease in the average prices of tobacco, tea, cocoa, coffee,
Groundnut oil and milk. Others are yam, Irish potatoes, water yam, cassava tuber, palm oil, and vegetable, etc,” NBS said.
The report said, “All items less farm produce and energy’’ or core inflation, which excludes the prices of volatile agricultural produce and energy, stood at 27.58 per cent in August on a year-on-year basis.
“This increased by 6.43 per cent compared to 21.15 per cent recorded in August 2023.
“The exclusion of the PMS is due to the deregulation of the commodity by removal of subsidy,” NBS said.
It said the highest increases were recorded in prices of rents, bus journey intercity, and journeys by motorcycle, etc.
“Others are accommodation service, laboratory service, x-ray photography, consultation fee of a medical doctor, among others.”
The NBS said on a month-on-month basis, the core inflation rate was 2.27 per cent in August 2024. “This indicates a 0.11 per cent increase compared to what was recorded in July 2024 at 2.16 per cent.”
“The average 12-month annual inflation rate was 25.18 per cent for the 12 months ending August 2024; this was 6.00 per cent points higher than the 19.18 per cent recorded in August 2023,” it stated.
The report said on a year-on-year basis in August 2024, the urban inflation rate was 34.58 per cent, 6.89 per cent higher than the 27.69 per cent recorded in August 2023.
“On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 2.39 per cent, which decreased by 0.07 per cent compared to July 024 at 2.46 per cent,” it said.
The report said that, on a year-on-year basis, in August 2024, the rural inflation rate was 29.95 per cent, which was 5.87 per cent higher than the 24.10 per cent recorded in August 2023.
“On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate was 2.06 per cent, which decreased by 0.04 per cent compared to July 2024 at 2.10 per cent.’’
The states’ profile analysis showed that in August, all items’ inflation rate on a year-on-year basis was highest in Bauchi at 46.46 per cent, followed by Kebbi at 37.51 per cent and Jigawa at 37.43 per cent.
It, however, said the slowest rise in headline inflation on a year-on-year basis was recorded in Benue at 25.13 per cent, followed by Delta at 28.86 per cent, and Imo at 28.05 per cent.
The report, however, said in August 2024, all items inflation rate on a month-on-month basis was highest in Kwara at 4.45 per cent, followed by Bauchi at 4.22 per cent, and Adamawa at 3.99 per cent.
“Ogun at 0.21 per cent, followed by Abuja at 0.92 per cent and Kogi at 1.14 per cent recorded the slowest rise in month-on-month inflation.”
The report said on a year-on-year basis, food inflation was highest in Sokoto at 46.98 per cent, followed by Gombe at 43.25 per cent, and Yobe at 43.21 per cent.
“Benue at 33.33 per cent, followed by Rivers at 33.01 per cent and Bayelsa at 33.36 per cent, recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis.’’
However, the report said on a month-on-month basis that food inflation was highest in Adamawa at 5.46 per cent, Kebbi at 4.48 per cent, and Borno at 3.88 per cent.
“Ogun at 0.08 per cent, followed by Akwa Ibom at 0.45 per cent and Sokoto at 1.00 per cent, recorded the slowest rise in inflation on a month-on-month basis,” it added.
Nigeria is facing its worst economic crisis in decades, with skyrocketing inflation, a national currency in free-fall and millions of people struggling to buy food. Only two years ago Africa’s biggest economy, Nigeria is projected to drop to fourth place this year.
The pain is widespread. Unions strike to protest salaries of around $20 a month. People die in stampedes, desperate for free sacks of rice. Hospitals are overrun with women wracked by spasms from calcium deficiencies.
Although President Bola Tinubu increased the minimum wage — after strike action and months-long negotiations with labour unions — from N30,000 to N70,000, his government has increased spending for officials at a time of nationwide starvation.
For workers earning the new N70,000, or $43, per month minimum wage, capricious inflation and naira value have inflicted too much damage for the changes to make any difference in their lives.
The crisis is largely believed to be rooted in two major changes implemented by Mr Tinubu, elected 16 months ago: the partial removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the currency, which together have caused major price rises.
A nation of entrepreneurs, Nigeria’s more than 200 million citizens are skilled at managing in tough circumstances, without the services states usually provide. They generate their own electricity and source their own water. They take up arms and defend their communities when the armed forces cannot. They negotiate with armed kidnappers when family members are abducted.
But right now, their resourcefulness is being stretched to the limit.
Prices of petrol tripled since the removal of subsidy in May 2023, from around ₦200/litre to about ₦1000/litre, compounding the woes of the citizens who power their vehicles, and generating sets with petrol, no thanks to decades-long epileptic electricity supply.
Amid a lingering fuel scarcity and crisis, petrol is being sold for ₦855 per litre at state-owned petroleum company, NNPCL, cementing claims that the price has been reviewed upward to reflect the nation’s current foreign exchange woes and fuel landing cost hassles.
In recent weeks, the nation has suffered an acute fuel scarcity that led the few stations with fuel to sell at exorbitant prices above N1,000 per litre while black market prices exceeded N1,200.
In August, Amnesty International accused Nigerian security forces of killing at least 21 protesters during a week of economic hardship protests.
Police and other security agencies clamped down on protests after thousands of people joined rallies against government policies and the high cost of living from August 1st to 10th.
Security forces denied responsibility for deaths during the protests.