No Respite As Cost Of Food Drives Inflation To 10-year High

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, has announced that Nigeria’s headline inflation rose to a 10-year high in July to over 24 percent.

According to the agency, the spike is more than five percent compared with the same period in 2022 when the rate stood at 19 percent.

Analysts insist that the high inflation rate is majorly caused by the rising cost of essential and household commodities such as food and fuel.

The figures released on Tuesday by the NBS indicate that headline inflation jumped to 24.08 per cent last month, the highest so far this year.

This is more than 1.21 percent when compared to the June figure, the agency said.

The NBS said, “In July 2023, the headline inflation rate rose to 24.08 per cent relative to June 2023 headline inflation rate which was 22.79 per cent.

“Looking at the movement, the July 2023 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 1.29 per cent points when compared to June 2023 headline inflation rate.

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 4.44 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in July 2022, which was 19.64 per cent.

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

Meanwhile, experts insist that the poor in the country will continue to suffer if the figure continues to rise, while the middle class will not be spared.

The rich, according to them will be able to survive in the short term by relying on their savings.

What should the government do? More subsidies should be extended to sectors such as education, health, and transportation to bring relief to the most vulnerable.