Inflation surges to 29.90%, as Tinubu mulls local production to tackle food inflation
By Matthew Denis, Abuja
Nigeria has experienced a surge in its inflation rate, reaching 29.90 percent, up from the previous month’s 28.92 percent, indicating a 0.98 percent increase and highlighting the persistent acceleration of inflation in the country.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed this information in its recently published Consumer Price Index on Thursday.
The elevated inflation rate puts additional pressure on the central bank’s monetary policy committee, intensifying expectations for a substantial increase in interest rates during its scheduled meeting on February 26-27. This would mark the committee’s first interest rate adjustment in seven months.
According to the report, “In January 2024, the headline inflation rate increased to 29.90 per cent relative to the December 2023 headline inflation rate, which was 28.92 percent.” The year-on-year analysis revealed an 8.08 percent increase compared to January 2023, which recorded an inflation rate of 21.82 percent.”
On a month-on-month basis, the report indicated a 2.64 percent inflation rate in January 2024, marking a 0.35 percent increase from the December 2023 rate of 2.29 percent. This suggests a faster pace of increase in the average price level during January 2024 compared to the preceding month.
The rise in food inflation has been a persistent global issue, exacerbated by the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. In Nigeria, the geometric progression of food product prices has led to protests in various parts of the country, including Niger, Kano, Kogi, Ondo, as citizens demand solutions to the economic crisis.
The removal of the fuel subsidy, resulting in higher transport costs and food price inflation, has further intensified the economic challenges in Nigeria. Traditional rulers in the Northern region, along with the Nigerian Bar Association, have expressed concern about the hardships faced by citizens due to these economic factors.
Reacting to this yesterday, President Tinubu explained that his administration is evolving home-grown solutions to address the nation’s food security challenges by setting up schemes to support local production and discourage all forms of rent-seeking that are associated with food importation.
The President made the declaration at a meeting with the 36 state governors, attended by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, the National Security Adviser, the Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General of the DSS, and some ministers at the State House in Abuja on Thursday.
The President further endorsed the training and equipping of forest rangers by sub-national governments to safeguard human and natural resources in local communities.
‘’My position at this meeting is that we must move aggressively and establish a committee to look critically at the issues raised, including the possibility of establishing state police.
‘’From Kano, we have read reports about large-scale hoarding of food in some warehouses. The National Security Adviser (NSA), the Inspector-General of Police, and the Director-General of the Department of State Services should coordinate very closely and ensure that security agencies in the states inspect such warehouses with follow up action.
‘’We must ensure that speculators, hoarders, and rent seekers are not allowed to sabotage our efforts in ensuring the wide availability of food to all Nigerians.
‘’What I will not do is set a price control board. I will not also approve the importation of food. We should be able to get ourselves out of the situation we found ourselves in, because importation will allow rent seekers to perpetrate fraud and mismanagement at our collective expense. We would rather support farmers with the schemes that will make them go to the farm and grow more food for everyone in the country.
‘’We must also look at the rapid but thoughtful implementation of our livestock development and management plans, including dairy farming and others,’’ the President stated.
President Tinubu also encouraged the governors to always make the welfare and prosperity of the people a priority of their development programmes, assuring them that the federal government will continue to work diligently to improve the nation’s revenue profile.
