In December, Nigeria experienced its most significant inflation rate increase in over 27 years, driven by a surge in food prices. This escalation further compounds the existing challenges of a cost-of-living crisis, placing additional demands on the central bank to consider raising interest rates.
Consumer inflation continued its upward trajectory for the 12th consecutive month, reaching 28.92% year-on-year, compared to the previous month’s 28.20%, according to the National Bureau of Statistics’ announcement on Monday.
The inflationary pressures currently observed in Africa’s largest economy and most populous nation represent a historical milestone, with the inflation rate reaching levels not witnessed since the mid-1996 period.
In May of the previous year, President Bola Tinubu initiated Nigeria’s most ambitious reforms in decades, which included the elimination of a costly yet widely popular fuel subsidy and a deliberate devaluation of the currency aimed at revitalizing economic growth. However, despite these efforts, economic growth remains elusive, and the situation has been compounded by a worsening inflationary trend.
Since assuming office in September, Governor Olayemi Cardoso of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not convened a rate-setting meeting.