No Stopping, Keep On Rising As Nigeria’s Inflation Hits 22.22 Percent In April, NBS Report

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that the country’s inflation rate for the month of April is currently 22.22% surpassing the previous of March at 22.04% as food inflation is highest in Cross River, Bayelsa and Ekiti states.

The NBS disclosed this in its monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Monday

According to the report, in April 2023, the headline inflation rate rose to 22.22% relative to March 2023 headline inflation rate which was 22.04%.

Looking at the movement, the April 2023 inflation rate showed an increase of 0.18% points when compared to March 2023 headline inflation rate

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 6.13 percent points higher compared to the rate recorded in March 2022 which was 15.92 percent.

“Likewise, on a month-on-month basis, the All-Items Index in April 2023 was 1.91%, which was 0.05% points higher than the rate recorded in March 2023 (1.86%). This means that in April 2023, on average, the general price level was 0.05% higher relative to March 2023.”

The report also showed an increase in urban inflation on a year-to-year basis

“In April 2023, the urban inflation rate was 23.39%, this was 6.05% points higher compared to the 17.35% recorded in April 2022. On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 2.05% in April 2023, this was 0.05% points higher compared to March 2023 (2.00%).”

As for Food Inflation, it moved from 24.45% in March 2023.to 24.61% in April 2023.

The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve months ending April 2023 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve months was 20.82%, showing a 4.37% increase compared to the 16.45% recorded in April 2022.

NBS stated: “In April 2023, all items inflation rate on a year-on-year basis was highest in Bayelsa (26.14%), Kogi (25.57%), Rivers (24.95%), while Borno (19.06%), Taraba (19.64%) and Sokoto (19.90%) recorded the slowest rise in headline inflation on a year-on-year basis.

“On a month on month basis, however, April 2023 recorded the highest increases in Cross River (3.05%), Bayelsa (2.92%), Rivers (2.62%), while Katsina (0.52%), Jigawa (0.74%) and Osun (0.96%) recorded the slowest rise on month-on-month inflation.

“In April 2023, food inflation on a year-on-year basis was highest in Kogi (29.50%), Kwara (29.48%), and Bayelsa (29.38%), while Sokoto (19.55%), Taraba (20.20%) and Jigawa (20.68%) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a year-on-year basis.

“On a month on-month basis, however, April 2023 food inflation was highest in Cross River (4.65%), Bayelsa (3.61%), and Ekiti (3.49%), while Jigawa (0.14%), Katsina (0.44%) and Osun (0.62%) recorded the slowest rise in food inflation on a month-on-month basis.”