Inflation rate hits 22.4%, rises for fifth straight month in May

By Sodiq Adelakun

Nigeria’s annual inflation rate rose for the fifth straight month to 22.41 percent in May 2023 from 22.22 per cent in the previous month, according to the latest inflation report released on Thursday.

This was according to the report published by the National Bureau Statistics (NBS) stating that the food inflation rate quickened to 24.82 per cent in May from 24.61 per cent in the previous month.

“Looking at the movement, the May 2023 inflation rate showed an increase of 0.19 per cent points when compared to April 2023 headline inflation rate. Similarly, on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 4.70 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in May 2022, which was (17.71 percent),” it said.

It said food & non-alcoholic beverages contributed most to the acceleration in the headline inflation with (11.61 per cent) followed by Housing Water, Electricity Gas & Other Fuel (3.75 per cent), Clothing & Footwear (1.71 percent) and Transport (1.46 per cent).

Others are Furnishings & Household Equipment & Maintenance (1.13 per cent) Education, (0.88 percent), Health (0.67 percent), Miscellaneous Goods & Services (0.37 per cent), Restaurant & Hotels (0.27 per cent,) Alcoholic Beverage, Tobacco & Kola (0.24 per cent), Recreation & Culture (0.15 percent) and Communication (0.15 per cent).