Inflation: FG To Borrow $1.5bn; PDP Says Tinubu Unprepared

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has slammed the All Progressives Congress, APC-led federal government for the worsening state of the nation’s economy.

The main opposition party in the country said the recent report released by the Nigeria Bureau of Statics, NBS, is a pointer that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his party were not prepared for governance.

According to the NBS Consumer Price Index, CPI, report, headline inflation which represents the cost of basic food items and energy rose in the month of September to close to 27 percent compared to 26 percent for the same period last year.

NBS said: “In September 2023, the headline inflation rate increased to 26.72 percent relative to the August 2023 headline inflation rate, which was 25.8 percent.

The NBS report said, “Looking at the movement, the September 2023 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.92 percentage points when compared to the August 2023 headline inflation rate.

“On a YoY basis, the headline inflation rate was 5.94 percent points higher compared to the rate recorded in September 2022, which was 20.77 percent.

“This shows that the headline inflation rate (YoY basis) increased in September 2023 when compared to the same month in the preceding year (i.e., September 2022).”

“The Food inflation rate in September 2023 was 30.64 percent on a YoY basis, which was 7.3 percentage points higher compared to the rate recorded in September 2022 (23.34 percent).

“The rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of Oil and fat, bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, fruit, meat, vegetables and milk, cheese, and eggs.”

What this means, according to analysts is that the cost of basic food commodities has risen beyond what many Nigerians can afford.

For instance, not a few Nigerians have criticized the government for the sharp rise in the price of cooking gas, rice, beans, vegetables, and other household commodities.

The federal government said it’s working hard to ensure that the situation is remedied.

Reacting to the NBS report, PDP said the level of despondency and hunger in the country is an indication that President Tinubu was not well prepared to run the country.

Debo Ologunagba, PDP National Publicity Secretary said the country has been on the wrong trajectory since the APC took over power in 2015, noting that Nigerians were not “surprised about the report.”

He said the party had warned Nigerians that APC has nothing to offer to move the country forward, noting that it’s not a surprise the “news that the prices of food and other items have pushed inflation to 26.72 percent.”

The PDP spokesman stated further: “When inflation climbed to double digits after the APC took power in 2015, we told Nigerians it can only get worse because the APC can’t give what it does not have. “Like the Muhammadu Buhari administration before it, this administration has pushed more Nigerians further down into poverty. The number of Nigerians living in extreme poverty which stood at over 133 million, representing roughly 64 per cent of Nigerians during the Buhari regime, has risen under Tinubu.

“Nigerians are invited to note that when the PDP was in power, the economy was better managed, inflation was within single digits, the exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar was around N180 to $1 USD but today, the Naira is the worst performing currency in the world exchanging at over N1,000 to $1USD.

“A 50 kg bag of rice under successive PDP governments sold for no more N8,000 per bag but now you’ll struggle to get the same bag for N50,000 at a time the national minimum wage is just N30,000 per month.

“This is the legacy the APC is leaving behind. We urge Nigerians not to despair, help is coming. We are confident that the Supreme Court which is the last hope of the common man will do justice and return our stolen mandate for our dear nation to return to the path of growth and prosperity.”

Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy said on Monday after the Federal Executive Council, FEC meeting that President Tinubu understands the hardship in the country, the government, he stated has devised a plan to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians, part of which is the $1.5 billion loan to be obtained from the World Bank to fight inflation.